Special Union
by Pixel and Stephanie Forever
Summary: When Harry and Hermione are expelled from Hogwarts, there is only one place to go to finish their educations before the battle with Voldemort. Harry/Hermione/Mildred/Maud/Enid/Ruby/Jadu friendship.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Harry and Hermione were doing some Charms homework together, Ron was eating chocolate frogs and Neville was in the hospital wing – all was normal in Gryffindor Tower. The Charms work Harry and Hermione were doing involved them putting two spells together to find a hidden object – or a lost object if that was the case. Hermione was about to go and ask Professor Flitwick about testing their project in the Charms classrooms when the portrait opened up and in came both the Weasley twins who, for once, wore serious expressions.

"Harry? Hermione?" said George. "Dumbledore wants to see you" he said.

"But not you Ron" added Fred. "He was quite insistent on that" and both twins looked puzzled. Harry and Hermione looked at each other before packing up their stuff and heading to Dumbledore's office.

"What does Dumbledore want with them and not me?" asked Ron.

"I don't know" said Fred.

"But trouble's coming" supplied George.

# # # # #

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Hermione said in shock.

"But you can't!" said Harry.

"I am afraid I have done so" said Dumbledore. "The Board of Governors has decided you are both too dangerous to be at Hogwarts much longer. You must leave the castle by sunset, but you may keep your wands. And before you ask, I am in full agreement with the Board for the first time in years" and he looked at the dejected pair. "You should go now" and he motioned to the door. Harry and Hermione got up and with a glance between each other, took out their wands and before Dumbledore could react stuck him to the wall and removed his clothes. The pair went quickly to Gryffindor tower and to Harry's dorm.

"We're screwed" said Hermione. "Our educations… our futures…" she shook her head with tears running down her face.

"The first thing is to get our stuff together" Harry said. "No doubt Ron and Ginny are behind that door waiting for us" he added. "Once you've packed, we'll go out to the gates and get the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place. Maybe we can get in to that school Fleur and Gabby are at" Harry shrugged. Hermione, face still tear stained, hugged Harry then cancelled the privacy charms on the door and rushed through Ron and Ginny to get to her dorm to pack. A few simple spells did the trick, and she levitated her trunk in front of her and walked out Gryffindor tower for what she thought would be the last ever time. Harry was waiting by the main entrance, and they walked down the path and outside the school – watched and followed by nearly half the school.

# # # # #

"I bet it was bloody Malfoy" Harry fumed as he drank some tea.

"Lucy does seem the right person to do that" Hermione said. Harry noted the fact she seemed to have loosened up quite a bit after they were both expelled from Hogwarts. "Now we just have to figure out were we go to finish our educations" his best friend said.

"Dumbledore must have put a lot of pressure on Madame Maxine for her to say no to us" Harry pointed out.

"There was one other place we could try" Hermione suddenly became very calm and thoughtful. "I read about it a couple of summers ago" she continued. "Its run as sort of a private Boarding School – gets better results then Hogwarts, but because of its status it doesn't get its awards mentioned. I know the year has already begun, but they might let us go in" and then she seemed to realise something.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"A place called Cackles" said Hermione.

**A/N:**

**A little bit short and in a rush, but that's how I had it planned out – sort of! The talking Dumbledore's office will be explained in the next chapter which might take some time.**


	2. Same Old New School

**Same Old New School**

Cackles normally got its post via the normal post, so it was odd to see an Owl fly in through the window of the staff room and land on the table. Miss Davina Bat looked at the owl and ran for the safety of the cupboard. Amelia Cackle – currant Headmistress of Cackle's – sighed and took the letter from the owl which flew away again.

"Please tell me we are not due for another visit from Mistress Broomhead" asked her deputy, Miss Constance Hardbroom.

"Of course not" said Cackle, "But I have an application to join the school from two people. A Miss Hermione Granger and Mr Harry Potter" and Hardbroom looked at her.

"A boy at Cackles?" she asked. "I hardly think that is appropriate, Miss Cackle. And futher more, it is…" she went silent.

"Constance?" Cackle was a little concerned.

"Potter, you say?" Hardbroom said.

"Yes"

"Mr Harry Potter?"

"Yes, that's right" and then Cackle realised the signifcence of the name herself.

"Perhaps" said Hardbroom, "Perhaps we might make an exception in Mr Potter's case. Why do he and this Granger girl want to come here?" she asked.

"It seems the Headmaster at Hogwarts expelled them for being too dangerous" Cackle said. "They have said they will explain everything that happened, or at least what they know" she added.

"I assume they will be bringing copies of their academic records?" Hardbroom asked.

"That is what they have said" Cackle said, and she handed over the letter for Hardbroom to read whilst she ate some cheesecake.

# # # # #

"Nice place" Harry commented as he looked at castle.

"Miniature Hogwarts" Hermione said with a pang in her heart. They walked up a small path where there was a heavy gate set in stone. Before they could do anything, it swung open to reveal a tall and thin lipped woman wearing black all over. The pair suddenly had the image of Snape as a woman in their heads.

"I assume you are Mr Potter and Miss Granger?" she asked.

"Yes" the pair chorused.

"My name is Constance Hardbroom. I believe you have an appointment with Miss Cackle" and with that she led them into the castle and along corridors before arriving at a door that indicated they had arrived at their destination.

"Good Morning to both of you. Please take a seat" said Cackle. "Now I understand that you wish to join the Academy" she continued.

"Yes, Ma'am" Harry said.

"It says in your letter that you were expelled for 'being too dangerous'. Now what does that mean exactly?" Hardbroom asked.

"Albus Dumbledore kicked us out of Hogwarts because of some powerful parents throwing their weight and influence around" Hermione said.

"I assume you mean Lucius Malfoy" Hardbroom said.

"You know of him?" asked Hermione.

"You could say that. We met briefly at the end of a conference a number of years ago. I didn't hold with his views, and I certainly didn't like what he had been doing since then" Hardbroom replied.

"May I have a look at your educational records?" asked Cackle, and Harry handed them over to her. She and Hardbroom spent several minutes gazing over them, and one thing caught Hardbroom's attention.

"You have always had a low potions grade, Mr Potter" she said, "And yet your other scores are quite respectable"

"Professor Snape always marked Harry down because he hated his father" Hermione said.

"Yes, well Severus would be like that. We worked together at teacher training years ago" Hardbroom said. "Well apart from your Potions grades which I hope will improve, I see no problems with both of you entering here" she added.

"Splendid" Cackle clapped her hands. "Would you like to take a look around the school? Miss Hardbroom can show you the way, and you can fill in all the paperwork afterwards" and Harry and Hermione stood up, shook Cackle's hand and then left with Hardbroom.

#

"And this is the Potions lab" said Hardbroom, and showed them in to the room which was empty at that moment. "Now about your sleeping arrangements… You, Hermione shall sleep in the area as the rest of the forth years. As for you, Harry… you will be sleeping on the same floor, but an eye will be kept on you to stop any accusations of bothering the girls" and Harry knew what she meant. "But knowing you from what I have heard, I do not suppose that will be much of a problem. Now do either of you have anything to ask?" she finished.

"Do you serve seafood?" Harry asked.

"On special occasions like visits by the Grand Wizard" Hardbroom said.

"Oh well that's good then" Harry said. "I'm allergic to stuff like shrimps and prawns" he added.

"When will we be starting lessons?" asked Hermione.

"In two days" came the prim reply. "That should be enough time for you to settle in and get to know a few people" Hardbroom said. They were just walking to the gate when there was a smash of a window and a girl came flying out. "Mildred…" Hardbroom muttered and raised her hand to perform a spell.

"_Accio_"

"_Wingardium Leviosa_" both Harry and Hermione were quicker off the mark and the girl came safely to the ground.

"You saved my life" she said with a flush face.

"What happened, Mildred Hubble?" Hardbroom asked her.

"Ethel was trying to hurt Tabby" Mildred replied. "I was trying to stop her when she shoved me and I went flying out the window" she explained.

"Well luckily for you, Mildred, your new year-mates were quick off the mark and saved you from serious injury" Hardbroom said. "I will go and deal with Ethel Hallow myself. Please see these two to the gate" and with that she vanished on the spot.

'_That looked like apperation_' thought Harry.

"I'm Mildred Hubble" said the girl. She was wearing a long greyish black gymslip with pale blue shirt underneath it.

"Hermione Granger"

"Harry, Harry Potter" and Mildred's eyes went wide for a moment at the mention of the names.

"Harry Potter at Cackles? But you're a boy! Why are you here?" she asked as the crossed the courtyard towards the gates.

"Long story" Hermione said, "But we'll tell you all about it in two days" she assured her. Mildred showed them to the gate and let them out after saying she wanted to see them again later on.

# # # # #

"You will not believe who I saw in the courtyard!" Mildred said to her friends that evening.

"Hardbroom?" asked Enid Nightshade.

"No… Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. HB said that they will coming here to Cackles" and she told them everything that the pair had told her.

"This will be soooo extreme" said Maud.

"Harry said that he and Hermione will be joining our year" Mildred said.

"This will annoy Ethel" Enid noted dryly.

# # # # #

Harry and Hermione had a lot to do in the two days they had before they started lessons at Cackles. Whilst Hermione did all the washing, Harry went out to Gringotts and withdrew a few thousand pounds in muggle money to cover expenses at Cackles. The pair also went shopping for clothes that actually fit Harry. He brought Hermione a few skirts he thought suited her, a few new books and a big leather bound book to write in. Dinner was a takeaway of pizza and ginger beer before the pair turned in early because of the big day they had planned.

# # # # #

"They are still in this country?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes" replied Moody. "They haven't used an international floo or asked for a portkey" added the former Auror.

"Well I very much doubt that they would abandon us so quickly" Dumbledore said. "I presume you attempted to check Grimmauld Place?" and Dumbledore was regretting the exact wording of how ownership of the house was transferred from Sirius to Harry.

"I floo called them of course, but all I got was a flaming mad bloody elf" Moody said.

"Kreacher?"

"Aye, that miserable little sod" Moody said. "All he said was that the house was occupied by a pair called Starsky and Hutch. I can't say the names ring any bells" and it didn't for Dumbledore either.

"I shall have a look through our school records" he promised. "It was drastic a measure to take, but at least it will take the pressure off us for a while" and Dumbledore explained that Lucius Malfoy had been to see him with a message from Voldemort. The Dark Lord had made a magically binding deal which said he would not attack Hogwarts or any of its students, staff and people under the protection of the castle if Dumbledore expelled Harry and Hermione. "I'm certain that Harry will fight for us when the time is right. He has always been the forgiving one" which Moody agreed to.

"I had better get going then" said the former Auror, and he flooed away.

"Now" Dumbledore said to the otherwise empty room, "Now all I have to do is to keep tracks on Mr Potter and Miss Granger and ensure that they… SHERBET LEMON!" Dumbledore was distracted by the fact he saw a full forgotten packet of his favourite sweets.

# # # # #

Harry and Hermione awoke early and got themselves ready for the day before heading down for a large breakfast. Harry gave Kreacher strict instructions on what to do during their absence, and told him he wouldn't get his head on the wall of good elves. Hermione apperated Harry and the trunks with her and ended up in the forest a few minutes walk from Cackles. Miss Hardbroom was there for them, and she showed them to their rooms and said that their new uniforms were on the beds for them.

"Thank you, Miss Hardbroom" said Hermione, and she and Harry went into their separate rooms. It was quite roomier then either of them expected, about a quarter of the size of a Hogwarts house dorm, a window with no glass in it, a bedside table and locker, a large wardrobe and two large sets of drawers. Harry unshrunk the trunk, put it down at the foot of his bed and looked at the bed itself.

"Well we have a problem, Houston" Harry said to himself and went next door to Hermione and explained the situation. Harry and Hermione managed, with a few wrong turns, to find their way to Miss Cackle's office and the Headmistress was surprised to see them so quickly. She shoved the cheesecake out of the way and smiled at them.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Sort of" Hermione said with a giggle.

"We're both very grateful for you letting us come here even though the year had already started" Harry said, "But I think there has to be no way on earth I am wearing what the girls wear" and Harry held up the uniform that was provided to him.

"I see your point" Miss Cackle conceded. "What did you wear at Hogwarts? It has been a few decades since I went there last" she said.

"Black trousers, black shoes, dark grey jumper and a white shirt" Harry said. "I brought my old uniform with me when we left Hogwarts" and Cackle agreed to let Harry wear that instead.

"Now if you are hungry at all, it is just about time for lunch" and the three of them went to the dining room for lunch. Harry and Hermione wondered where they would sit when Mildred came in with a few other girls. She beckoned them over to her table where they sat down and introductions made.

# # # # #

"I wonder who that is" said Drusilla Paddock. "The girl with bushy brown hair, and that… is that _a boy_" she said. Her friend Ethel Hallow looked up and saw the two new arrivals talking to Mildred and her friends.

"Shush, Drusilla" Ethel said. Hardbroom had mentioned two new students arriving that morning, and the fact the boy seemed to be staying meant he was using the Founders' Rule concerning boys. "Well this is interesting" she mused quietly.

# # # # #

"You have a Firebolt?" asked Maud.

"I do" Harry said. "Hermione has not flown a broom since basic flight" he added.

"Well you'll have to learn you know" said Enid. "HB is a stickler for the rules" she added.

"HB?" asked Hermione.

"Miss Hardbroom" said Ruby Cherrytree. "It's a nickname for her" and Harry smiled. He was beginning to like this place already, and Hermione was doing the same by the looks of things.

"But be careful about that" warned Jadu. "She likes to pop out at you from thin air. None of us can do that" she added. Both Harry and Hermione thought she looked rather like one of the Patil twins. Hermione looked at Harry and then shrugged her shoulders.

"We can both do that" she said.

"Totally extreme" Maud giggled.

"But keep it to yourselves" Harry said. "Hermione is allowed to do it legally, but I'm not supposed to do it – strictly speaking" and their new friends agreed to keep it under wraps.

"So…" said Enid, "You start lessons in the morning?" and Harry nodded.

"That's right" he said. "It will be interesting to see how the methods are different when comparing here and Hogwarts" and then rolled his eyes as Ruby and Hermione had got into a science discussion.

"Have you met the other teachers?" asked Mildred.

"Not yet" said Harry. "We only had a basic tour the other day" so the girls filled him and Hermione in on the other teachers. They were a little surprised to hear of a Muggle living full time at the school, and the description of Miss Bat reminded Harry and Hermione of Trelawney a great deal. After a little while, lessons resumed for the afternoon and Harry and Hermione went back to their new rooms so that they could unpack.

# # # # #

"Albus, I have found information on the pair living at Grimmauld Place" Moody said as he stepped through the fireplace.

"That's good work" Dumbledore said.

"Don't be so cheerful" said Moody. "According to my sources, Starsky and Hutch are American muggle police detectives" and Albus's jaw dropped.

"Muggles in Grimmauld Place?" he asked.

"Aye" Moody replied, "But I have no idea how they managed to get in the place" and the pair of them spent half the afternoon and evening thinking of possible ways.

# # # # #

"And what, may I ask, are you doing in Harry Potter's bedroom?" asked Hardbroom as she came out of thin air.

"Erm… well you see Miss Hardbroom" Mildred began, but then floundered.

"Mildred offered to help me unpack the heavier objects from the trunk" Harry said quickly. Hardbroom stared at him accusingly for a few moments and then looked back to Mildred.

"I am glad to see you are making friends, Mildred" she said. "But next time you are in here do not leave the door closed" and Harry apologised and said he wasn't aware but that he'd remember the next time.

"I'd better get ready for bed" Mildred mumbled and hurried from the room.

"She means well enough, I suppose…" Hardbroom shook her head before looking at Harry. Classes start at 9.00am, and I expect you to be wearing your uniform. I wish you a pleasant night" and Harry watched her vanish before deciding on turning in for the night and finishing his unpacking tomorrow. He wanted to be up early and ready for the first day of lessons at Cackles

**A/N:**

**Second chapter for everyone, as you know by actually having reached this point!**

**I've provided some of the back story as to why H/HR were kicked out of Hogwarts. I have also done a little shifting around in timelines for both HP and WW as well as a few minor details like Harry being able to apperate on his own if needed to.**

**Reviews please. Reviews make me smile and think about rewarding you with new chapters.**

**Regards**

**Robert **


	3. First Day, Halloween, Holidays

**First Day, Halloween, Holidays**

Harry was always an early riser, but he was glad more so today as he had the chance of getting a shower before the girls thought of getting out of bed. Once he was done, Harry went back to his room and finished getting ready for the day. He took some shoe polish from his trunk and polished his shoes to a shiny blackness before putting them on and doing up his tie. Although it was a dry day, Harry was sure that he could smell rain on the cold morning air. Sighing to himself, and checking his appearance in the mirror, he picked up his school bag with all the new Cackles texts he had and headed down to the dining room which was somewhere on the bottom. When he got there, there was nothing around so he sat at the first table and started flicking through the Potions texts. A little while later, people flooded in and Hermione arrived with Mildred, Maud and Enid. They went to the table Harry was at, sat down and started to eat and talk – though not at the same time.

"Ethel is looking so smug today" Maud said. "Try to not rise to her bait, Millie" she added. Harry turned round to see Ethel looking snootily at them.

"She reminds me of Malfoy" Harry said to Hermione as he turned back round.

"I was thinking of Pansy Parkinson myself" his friend replied.

"I had no idea you was that way, Mione" Harry smirked.

"Who are those two?" asked Maud.

"Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are two very nasty people at Hogwarts. They attempt to bully others, and because of their Head of House normally get away with it" Hermione said.

"Sounds like Ethel and Drusilla then" said Mildred. They finished breakfast and then went off to their first lesson – Potions.

# # # # #

"If you do not already know, then please welcome Hermione Granger and Harry Potter to the school. Both of them have come here for reasons they may not want to say, but I do know that some of you already know. I ask that you do not bother either of them" Miss Hardbroom began the lesson by having them read about the laughing potions, and then actually making one. The cauldrons were not as big as the ones at Hogwarts, but Harry and Hermione overcame this issue with ease and made the potion within the allotted 20 minutes.

"Nice work" Maud said to them.

"Oh oh" Mildred said as the cauldron she and Maud were using started to rattle loudly.

"Something wrong?" asked Hermione.

"I added some of the stuff, but Maud did the tricky parts so there was no mistake" Mildred said. "There is nothing that could have gone wrong" she added.

"You will have to start again" Miss Hardbroom said, coming over to them.

"Miss Hardbroom?" Hermione called.

"Yes, Hermione?" said the teacher.

"Is it alright if me and Harry work with them?" Hermione said.

"I suppose so" Hardbroom agreed, but it was only a few minutes before the cause of the fault was found. The text book that Mildred and Maud were using had a few faded letters, and a faded 8 which looked like a funny 3. A quick check by Hardbroom showed that two other books also had this issue, and so she acknowledged the fact it was not Mildred's fault – on this occasion at least. "If we have time next lesson, we'll have another go for those that were unable to make the potion" Hardbroom zapped everything away and dismissed the class.

"You saved my life again" Mildred.

"It was the fault of the book, and I'm sure you could have found it yourself" Hermione commented as they went for Chanting. This went down as well as a Rabbi offered a bacon sandwich, but the pair were informed that lessons with Miss Bat were normal.

#

"Still no sign of them?" asked Dumbledore.

"Not a peep, but young Bill Weasley found something while at Gringotts" Moody said.

"Oh?"

"Seems Potter took a large amount of money and had it converted to muggle money" and Moody handed Dumbledore a short report on the transaction.

"All in Sterling" Dumbledore mused. "That means he is somewhere in this country, but he hasn't been seen in any of the magical locales. And where Harry is, Miss Granger is sure to be" and he was confused as to where Harry was at that moment.

"He could have gone to New Zealand or America. They both have very good schools" Moody said.

"But he didn't get out through the international floo or portkey stations. And he doesn't have a passport so he can't get out through muggle means. Even if he did have a fake one, he would have required polyjuice to fool magical detections we have set up… No! He is somewhere, but just simply hiding" and they went back to the rest of the order meeting.

#

"Flying!" Harry said brightly, "I'm going to enjoy this" and off they went out to the courtyard. After a few minutes, Miss Hardbroom allowed Hermione to sit the lesson out as she realised the girl had a type of fear of heights. The witches watched Harry flying with ease through the air – they still had trouble training their cats to stay on their brooms.

"Can you show us the stopping ability of your broom, Harry?" asked Hardbroom.

"Of course, Miss Hardbroom" and Harry took off and went a little distance, turned round and came whizzing back at them. Several of the year scattered as Harry came bursting towards them – only to slam on the braking charms to halt mere inches from Hardbroom's nose.

"Yes… well thank you, Mr Potter" Hardbroom said, and then a scream from behind her made them both turn to see Mildred roaring into the sky. "MILDRED HUBBLE!" Hardbroom yelled. "What has that girl done now" but Hermione piped up from the sidelines.

"I saw that girl mutter something just as Mildred took off" she said. "I could show you if you don't believe" and several others also agreed that Ethel had used a spell on Mildred's broom. Miss Hardbroom had always believed it to be the greatest indicator of someone's honesty if that person offered to show you their memory of an event.

"I shall deal with you later, Ethel Hallow" Hardbroom said, and then turned and looked into the sky to see Mildred cartwheeling over the school. "This would be a lot easier if she was in one place" she muttered. Mildred's screams could be heard plainly on the ground, and her friends worried greatly.

"Allow me" and Harry kicked off from the ground and raced after the errant broom. It was the first time Harry had flown this fast outside the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts, and he enjoyed the feel of the air whipping around his face and body.

"Har… Harry?" Mildred stammered as she gripped on to her broom with a vice like grip.

"Taxi for Mildred Hubble?" he smiled.

"I can't let go" Mildred was terrified because she couldn't get the broom to work right.

"Get on mine" Harry said.

"I can't – I'll fall" the girl was terrified out of her mind.

"Mildred, listen to me. You are perfectly safe. I am not going to let you fall. Trust me on this, and let go of the broom" and Harry's words reassured her, and Mildred let go and scrambled over to Harry's Firebolt – at the same time Harry got on Mildred's. "Go to the ground" he told his broom, and it obeyed him without question. Harry waited a few moments before casting a finite spell on Mildred's broken broom. Very gently, he put it into a left spiralling descent and spent the next ten minutes getting closer to the ground.

# # # # #

"How are Harry and Hermione settling in to Cackle's?" asked Miss Cackle.

"Very well" Hardbroom replied. "They have saved Mildred Hubble twice today already. Should they stop her from eating dinner, then they will save her a third time" and there was a pregnant pause before a door slammed shut.

"Constance, you might not have wanted to say that whilst Mrs Tapioca was _in_ the same room as you" Cackle sighed before turning to the cheesecake she had had delivered.

# # # # #

Over the next few weeks, Harry and Hermione became good friends with Mildred, Maud, Enid, Ruby and Jadu. Ethel and Drusilla became their enemies too, but often they got stopped in their plans to sabotage Mildred's work by good timed spells from Harry and Hermione – Harry more so because it was wandless magic. There was going to be Halloween in a few days time, and the students would, as always, be performing some kind of performance for the Grand Wizard. Upon hearing who the Grand Wizard was inviting as his guest, Harry immediately asked to be excused from the event, but Hardbroom refused saying that he could do the display and then keep away from Dumbledore instead. As their year would be doing some kind of broomstick display, they naturally asked Harry to come up with a plan. Thus Harry was busy making up plans and more plans.

"HB's looking for you" Hermione said as she came in Harry's bedroom.

"It isn't time yet" he said.

"No, but she wants everyone ready to go in an hour" and Harry shook his head.

"I'm not done yet, or rather the Firebolt isn't" he said. "The thing needs another coat at least" he added. Harry was in his shirt sleeves oiling and polishing his broom after stripping it down to the most basic components. When Miss Hardbroom had found him coating the twigs, main body and the fasteners with Singer Oil, she asked him why he was doing what he was doing.

"I haven't flown my broom like this in over five months, Miss Hardbroom. Doing the flying is easy, but something like this could cause issues. I thought it best to strip it down, check each part by the manual and then put it together again and polish it at the same time" he told her.

"But why use Singer Oil?" she asked him. She thought he would have just used a spell to do the work.

"Well I could use magic I suppose, but with all the magic here today it could be put off a little. Besides, if it goes wrong then I have myself to blame. The reason I'm using Singer Oil is because I found it is better for the Firebolt then pretty much all the creams and potions you can get" and he handed over the small note book he used to keep details of niggles on the Firebolt. Miss Hardbroom was impressed greatly when she saw the date, weather conditions, the actual incident and action taken to solve the problem.

"I see you take it apart once a month, Mr Potter" she said.

"Well I used to do it when I played Quidditch – all the practices and everything. But now with me doing nothing, there isn't much reason for me to do all this. I only did it because I want everything to go right" Harry told her, and then hesitated for a moment.

"Something the matter?"

"I was just wishing that I didn't have to see Dumbledore" he said.

"You know what the decision is, but after the presentation you can do what you wish" Hardbroom said and then had vanished. Harry only vaguely heard Hermione continue to talk as he attended to his broom.

# # # # #

"My broom is going to fail again" Mildred complained. Her broom, as always, was held together with parcel tape. Hermione looked round before pulling out her wand and casting a quick spell.

"_Repairo_" and the broom creaked and then fused together as if brand new.

"Extreme" said Maud.

"Not really" said Hermione. "It fixes nearly everything you can think of" and she promised to teach them the spell. One thing that had got both Harry and Hermione was the non use of wands, and in fact the pair were the only ones to use wands at the school. Cackles taught their pupils to use magic through their casting fingers and this interested the former Hogwarts students.

"Harry's here" said Enid.

"You were very nearly late, Harry Potter" said Hardbroom.

"Sorry, Miss Hardbroom" he said, "But I wasn't happy with the balancing of the broom, so I had to adjust it with some spells" and Hardbroom was happy with that. Harry and Hermione had been model pupils since they had started Cackles, had made a number of friends and had even managed to get Mildred Hubble to do up her bootlaces. She was willing to let Harry have his quirks about his Firebolt because of this, though she would never say so of course.

"Well now that you have sorted it out, and Mildred's broom has _magically_ repaired itself, we can get on with the show" Hardbroom said. "Just remember that you are holding the honour of Cackles Academy tonight, so I do not want any mistakes at all. You have all been practicing exceptionally hard, so I doubt there will be any problems. Anyone who brings the name of the school down in anyway shall be punished most severely" and with that, she turned and led the way out the castle and into the forest. The Grand Wizard was there along with Dumbledore who was in midnight blue robes with gold stars. Harry put the front of his pointed hat down over his eyes so he wouldn't be recognised by him. Pleasantries were exchanged between the Grand Wizard, Dumbledore, and most of the staff of Cackles. Harry and Hermione had suggested that Miss Drill remain as far away from Dumbledore as possible for her own good. When she had asked if she was in any kind of danger, they had both said yes – and that was all they said. When questioned about the abruptness of their answer, the pair said that Dumbledore was not above killing muggles and had done so before.

# # # # #

"You like Sherbet Lemons, Chief Warlock?" asked Cackle.

"I love them" Dumbledore replied.

"I'm partial to cheesecake myself" Cackle went on. The speeches and songs went on for another hour before the display would finish it all off. The girls and Harry mounted their brooms and took to the air. They weaved and bobbed in perfect symmetry, before the big finale. Harry took the broom to a few hundred feet above the others, and then flipped it the other way round and started his return. As he did so, the Firebolt gathered speed and came down at an impressive speed. He urged it onwards and a few seconds before he slammed into the ground he pulled it up and burst straight through the ring made by the girls on their brooms. As he passed, a huge cloth spurted out from the back of the broom and attached itself to the points of the brooms making up the ring – and was revealed to be a very large Cackles Academy crest.

"That is very impressive" said the Grand Wizard.

"I agree" said Dumbledore, and his eyes fixed on the broom rider doing a wide turn and slowing down. If he wasn't mistaken, then he had just found Harry Potter. None of the other brooms looked like a Firebolt and only so many had ever been made. After he was finished here, he would go to the Ministry and look up the details of Harry's broom – something most people didn't know was possible. Every time a broom was sold above a certain level, the shopkeeper took down details and passed them on to the Ministry. He was about to excuse himself when he got a good look at the broom and was proved right in his guess. Unlike the other Firebolts, Harry had removed the luggage carrier on the underside of the broom claiming he had no use for it. He got up from his seat and walked over to where Harry had just landed. "Good Evening, Mr Potter. I am glad to see that you are in fine form" and Harry turned round to look at him.

"I have nothing to say to you" he said simply.

"Oh, but you do indeed. You are to come with me. You are to be put in Azkaban because of the murder of your own parents and of Cedric Diggory. You will also be imprisoned for the attempted murder of Ronald Weasley" and Harry was grabbed by the shoulder.

"LET GO OF HIM THIS INSTANT!" bellowed Hardbroom as she appeared out of the smoke next to them.

"Stay out of this, Miss Hardbroom. Otherwise you will be charged as an acommplise" Dumbledore said.

"May I remind you, Professor Dumbledore, that this is our school you are visiting, our rules and you are assaulting a pupil of this school. If you do not remove your hand from him this instant, then I will be forced to attack you" and Hardbroom raised her casting fingers.

"You have to get through me to harm Harry, Dumb as a Door" Hermione said. There was a pause as the students, rest of the staff and the Grand Wizard watched. Then a girl broke away and walked carefully over to the incident and stood next to Hermione.

"And that goes for me too" Mildred Hubble said. The only sound heard for a few moments was the crackling of the bonfires.

"I am the Chief Warlock" Dumbledore said. "I can go anywhere I want and arrest anybody I need to" he added.

"But whilst you are in _my_ school, you will not do anything to harm any of the students here" Cackle said. She knew now what Harry and Hermione had been talking about the day of their interview.

"Might I remind you that this school…" but Cackle cut Dumbledore off.

"… is not under Ministry control. Have you forgotten in your old age that this school is private and runs its own business? Have you also forgotten the charter that we proudly uphold to this day?" she asked. "Now let go of my pupil before I allow Miss Hardbroom to attack. I am sure that Mildred and Hermione can clear up afterwards…" but Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Harry is a Hogwarts student" he began, and Harry took this chance to twist free of Dumbledore's vice like grip.

"I am a cackle now, Chief Warlock. And if you do not let go of me in the next five seconds, then I shall most certainly allow Miss Hardbroom to attack you in my place. I here she can do the most impressive spells" Harry said. Dumbledore looked at everyone before walking off into the forest – promising to get Harry in Azkaban.

"If you wish, Harry, then you may go and return to the school" Miss Cackle said.

"That's alright, Miss Cackle", Harry said. "I'll be sure to enjoy the rest of tonight" and the party went on. It lasted for several more hours until practically everyone was asleep on their feet. As Harry prepared for bed, he admitted to himself that it was a great party except for Dumbledore. However, now that he knew that Harry was at Cackles, he was sure that he would try to storm the school and take him to Azkaban. However, knowing Dumbledore's plans, he would most likely strike at him during the summer. This at least gave him several more months to decide what he was going to do. It was up to Hermione what she wanted to do, but he knew she would most likely want to come with him. He wondered what he was going to do over the Christmas holidays – he certainly wasn't going to the Weasleys. He put such thoughts off until it got nearer the festive period, and soon he fell into a deep but troubled sleep.

# # # # #

"Something wrong, Constance?" asked Miss Cackle.

"No" said Hardbroom.

"I've known you long enough, Constance. Tell me what is wrong" Cackle's voice held for no dispute of the request.

"When Hermione Granger stood in front of Harry, everyone could tell she was very angry at Albus Dumbledore. But when Mildred Hubble stood by her side, I could sense magic itself trembling with… well excitement I guess. I have never heard of a witch so powerful before – not even I am that good" Hardbroom looked distracted. "Of course, it might have been me getting confused with all the magic that was radiating tonight. Now that I reflect on it, I think that might have been it. Now if you excuse me, Amelia, I must take some sleep before getting the lessons ready for this afternoon" and with that, Hardbroom vanished in a swirl of smoke.

"Are you so wrong?" Cackle asked the staff room before she left for her own quarters. Whilst Hardbroom was right on most occasions, All Hallows Eve was about the only time Hardbroom's senses were thrown.

# # # # #

"I have news about Harry" said Dumbledore, and he told the Order about Harry's current location. They agreed with his plan to grab Harry that summer, put him in Azkaban and then tell Voldemort of this.

"I questioned that damned elf at Grimmauld" said Moody.

"And what does he said?" asked McGonagall grumpily. She did not like being woken up in the middle of the night.

"It seems that Starsky and hutch have left the house, but another man has appeared to have taken up residence" Moody said.

"Who?" asked the Deputy Headmistress.

"The blasted elf told me that the muggle Prime Minister is living there now" said Moody.

"Why would he be there?" Dumbledore blurted out in surprise. "This goes deeper then I ever thought possible. Did the elf say anything else?" he asked Moody.

"Yes"

"And?"

"He said some old bird called Maggie Thatcher was coming in a few days time to stay"

"Margaret Thatcher?" Dumbledore went very pale.

"Aye, that's it" Moody confirmed, and Dumbledore suddenly went very sick.

"Be afraid… be _VERY_ afraid" Dumbledore had faced Grindlewort, Voldemort, his Death Eaters, many other dark witches and wizards and had never been afraid. But there was only one woman that scared him, and that was the former muggle Prime Minister.

# # # # #

"Speak"

"My Lord, Dumbledore has found the Potter brat at another school. He intends to send him to Azkaban next summer and then tell us so we may finish him off. The old fool just wants to keep his castle safe and sound"

"Very good, Severus. We shall continue to proceed along my plan and not attack too many targets. There will be fear of us for a while, but then their guard shall be let down. Let it be known that my Death Eaters are to not kill a single person they encounter. We shall confuse and puzzle the blood traitors" and Voldemort was pleased.

# # # # #

The following day, Harry thanked Mildred and Hermione for coming to his aid, and he felt more accepted by Mildred and her friends then ever before. Instead of a half day of lessons, Miss Cackle had decided to give everyone a half holiday – annoying Hardbroom slightly until she realised she could use the time to get some of her paperwork done, sort out a longer lesson plan and brew several potions. Using this chance, Mildred and her friends had taken Harry and Hermione down to Cosie's to experience the cream teas one could purchase from such a place. When it was time to go, Harry was carrying several boxes of cheesecake for Miss Cackle, a box each of Earl Grey and English Breakfast tea for Miss Hardbroom and a few sweet treats for himself and the others. Hermione had been somewhat reluctant in leaving her armchair so she had duplicated to be put in her bedroom.

Lessons went on for the next month and a half before the excitement of Christmas began to catch up. Hermione wished she could have spent it with her parents, but she knew that it wouldn't make for a good time. Upon her discovery as a witch, both of her parents – both good and practicing Catholics – had denounced her. They only allowed her back home until they had decided she was old enough to look after herself. She had lived with Sirius over the summer holidays before his death and the transferring of the ownership of Grimmauld Place to Harry. But even so, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she turned up on her parents' doorstep. She might try it the once, and if they decided not to allow her in their home, then she would go and spend it with her best friend.

"What are you doing for Christmas?" asked Enid to Harry a few days before the school broke up for the holidays.

"I've not got much planned. Mione's parents denounced her when they found out she was a witch, so she used to live with my late godparent until he died. We'll just be having a quiet Christmas at Grimmauld Place" Harry replied.

"Well I don't suppose those relatives of yours will let you spend it at their house" Maud said. Harry had Mildred, Maud, Enid, Ruby and Jadu all about his relatives, and the abuse he had suffered from them. All of them had been horrified, as had Hardbroom who had been about to jump out at them for all being in Harry's bedroom. If this was Harry's way of getting over the abuse, then she would not stop him for getting over it. She had her own issues with Mistress Broomhead.

"I wish you could spend it with my family" said Jadu, "But mine doesn't celebrate Christmas even though I do" but Hermione had said she didn't mind that much. The other girls had said they could spend the holidays at their homes, but space was an issue as was sleeping arrangements. Most of the girls' families held old fashioned beliefs.

"Staying at the castle, are we?" asked Ethel as she dropped by.

"Get lost, Mal… Ethel" Harry had almost called Ethel Malfoy by mistake. Ethel either didn't hear or else didn't bother to show it if she had done so.

"And how do you think you will do that?"

"Give you an out of date map" Hermione smiled.

"You'll regret speaking to me like that. My father is the chair of Governors" and Ethel walked off.

"I'd give anything to hit her with gunge" Mildred said, and then turned to Harry and Hermione. "We'll send you letters somehow" she said, and as Hermione was talking with the group Harry hit upon the best idea for the situation.

"Why don't you all spend Christmas at Grimmauld Place with Hermione and me?" he suggested. "We've got loads of room, and we'll take you shopping down Diagon Alley. Yeah, why not? We can get a turkey in and all the trimmings" and the others looked at him in surprise.

"You mean it?" asked Hermione.

"Why not?" Harry asked. "Otherwise it is you, me, Dobby and Kreacher. That is something I wish to avoid" he added, and Hermione could agree to that at least. As much as she wanted changes to the laws pertaining to the rights of House Elves, even Hermione Granger was tempted to blast the little bugger into the middle of next week. It only did what she wanted it to do when she threatened it with not having its head put on the wall of Good Elves at Grimmauld. They had both seen Dobby punch Kreacher in the nose for saying rude things about Hermione.

"I wouldn't mind staying with you, but I'd have to ask my parents" said Mildred.

"Mine will let me do what I want for the holidays" said Jadu with a shrug. Enid and Maud also agreed to ask for permission to stay with Harry other the holidays, whilst Ruby said she would try but expected that the answer would be no.

"Who is Dobby anyway?" asked Maud.

"That, Maud, is the name of my personal house elf" Harry said, and there were gasps at that bit of news. It seemed that Harry had never told them about Dobby.

"You have the use of your own elf?" said Enid.

"Well he sort of bonded himself to me, but he comes and goes to do his own things" Harry shrugged. "And he does a decent French toast" and Hermione rolled her eyes. As they finished breakfast, Harry pulled out a notepad and pen from his bag and began to make a list of things he would need. He had a certainty of at least one of them, with maybe three others to make four in total if Mildred, Maud and Enid were allowed to stay at Grimmauld Place.

# # # # #

"… and I believe that is all you can expect from me for now. I wish you all a very happy holiday, and you may go now" Miss Cackle dismissed the students who went to collect their trunks and cases before heading home. Harry and Hermione would be travelling home using muggle means, and would be accompanied by Maud, Jadu and Enid. Mildred would be coming a day or so later as her grandmother was ill, and so she had to see her first. There had been no reply to Ruby's letters home, so they all assumed she was not allowed to come.

"See you in a day or so, Millie!" shouted Maud. It was echoed by the others, who all waved before they headed down to the bus stop to get a bus to the local train station. They would catch a train from there to London, and then get a Taxi to Grimmauld Place. The trip went more or less smoothly for the group, and they eventually arrived at the home to be met by Dobby who bowed low to Maud, Jadu and Enid as they entered. The girls giggled slightly as he did so. The following day, Mildred arrived during lunch after learning her grandmother had nothing more then a very bad cold which had been complicated due to her age. After they had sorted her out with a room, they all went out to Lyon's corner café where they had a high tea before looking through a few shop windows and then heading back to Grimmauld to have dinner, sleep and be ready for the first day of shopping.

What they didn't know, was that Harry and Hermione had been spotted by Ron and Ginny.

**A/N:**

**A MUCH bigger chapter for you all!**

**This was going to be 3000 words, but managed to make it higher then that I think! So we've had Harry and Hermione's first day at Cackles, an altercation with Dumbledore at Halloween and then the beginning of Christmas holidays.**

**The next chapter or two shall be about the Christmas holiday, a little fight between Harry and Ron and then a return to Cackles. Now, before anyone asks, I shall remind you all that I have moved things around slightly and changed things here and there so both universes fit together.**

**I would also like to make clear something about Hermione's situation with her parents. Pixel and Stephanie wishes it to be known that he has NO issues with members of the Catholic church, but was pointing out that officially they still condemn witchcraft. As faithful followers Mr and Mrs Granger would surely cast Hermione out as soon as they could get away with it. So again, PASF wishes it known he has no grudges or issues with members of the Catholic persuasion.**

**(that should cover me from 's fairness police)**

**I also do not own the Singer company, its just my choice of oil for lubricating as it doesn't have that much of a smell, and when it does is somewhat pleasant.**

**I'm dedicating this chapter to Kimmeth, ****NextChristineDaae and Princess Sammi from the Worst Witch Forum. Special hello to them as well.**

**There will be a little break between this chapter and me starting to write the next one as I'm going on a short holiday myself to drive a steam engine – soooooooooooooo much fun that!**

**With regards**

**Pixel And Stephanie**


	4. Topsy Turvy, Turvy Topsy

**Topsy Turvy, Turvy Topsy**

**A/N: For those who don't like extreme child abuse in fics, please do not read this chapter. This is a warning. For those who don't like extreme child abuse in fics, please do not read this chapter. This is a warning**

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED – I am not to blame for not giving clear warnings as I've done so.**

Dobby had prepared a large breakfast for everyone, telling Kreacher that while he was the Black Family elf, he was The Great And Noble Harry Potter Sir's elf which gave him seniority. As such, Kreacher was sent to his little cupboard until he was needed. As was normal, Harry awoke first, followed by Hermione, Maud, Enid, Jadu and Mildred in that order. The Cackle girls loved the change from their normal school arrangement in that their bedrooms had en-suite bathrooms. The eventually all sat around the table in the kitchen and ate until they couldn't do so any more. Maud asked Harry what he had in store for them.

"Well I thought that we could have a trip to Diagon Alley, look round some of the shops, take a trip to Gringotts and then go round a few muggle shops if we have time. I thought we could all go shopping for stuff that we wanted to eat. Dobby and Kreacher will be going to the South Atlantic for two weeks starting next week for holiday" Harry said. Hermione had made Dobby promise he would not push Kreacher into an old Argentinean minefield left over from the Falklands War. The elf had looked rather disappointed by this order.

"How will we get all the stuff back here?" asked Maud. "Would not the non magic users notice if we fly on brooms or levitate the bags?" she added.

"What we do is use the car" Hermione said whilst they watched Dobby dealing with the washing up.

"You can drive?" asked Enid.

"Well yes, but not legally speaking though" Harry replied. "I've taken numerous lessons of course, but due to my age – and Dumbledore – I've never been able to take the test. Of course, I have a very safe car indeed, and its charmed to not explode, crumple, spindle, mutate or anything else" and he took them to the garage concealed in the cloaking field that surrounded 12 Grimmauld Place. A gleaming black Humvee sat in the middle of the garage, and the girls could sense the safety by looking at it.

"You'd need an Atom Bomb to crack Betsy open" said Hermione half in jest.

"I thought you could only buy Hummers" Mildred said. She had a non magical family after all and so knew a little about these things.

"Well yes, but Harry used his name and fame to get hold of one. Now the best thing is that you drive out of here, but come out the garage in another part of London" Hermione said.

"A portal" Jadu said.

"Yep" Harry said. "Soooooo anyone want to go for a ride?" and they all got in and drove off to start the day off.

They parked a little way from Kings Cross, went into the underground and got a Northern line service to Monument where it was a two minute walk to Diagon Alley. Mildred and the others gasped at nearly everything as they went through the _Leaky Cauldron_ and into the Alley itself. Harry and Hermione smiled before walking off to Gringotts to get some money. The girls were able to exchange their money for Wizarding money, even though they hated the name. Harry agreed with their complaints, and made a note to see if there was anything he could do about it after he had defeated Voldemort, solved world hunger, launched the first manned mars probe and filled in his tax returns. The first shop they stopped at was the Magical pet shop to get some magic treats for their cats. Then it was off to Flourish and Blotts to purchase books on potions and magical history. A quick visit to junk shop was followed by an hour visit to the apothecary where everyone stocked up on ingredients so they could practice over the holidays.

# # # # #

"My Lord" a Death Eater came running in to the hall. "Excuse my intrusion, My Lord but we have just received news on Harry Potter" and he flinched in expectation of a _Crucio_ which never came.

"What is it?" asked Voldemort.

"He has been seen in Diagon Alley, along with the mudblood girl and several other girls none of us know about" replied the Death Eater.

"Very good. Now as you know, it is my aim to confuse people as much as possible" Voldemort said. "Take a full raiding party to Diagon Alley, search out Harry Potter, go up to him and hand over this present to him" and Voldemort handed the Death Eater a small box wrapped in brown paper. "Give him this as well, and assure him that the note is not caused in anyway" and the Death eater did as was asked of him.

# # # # #

"DEATH EATERS!" screamed a woman. Harry turned to see a full raiding party came marching up the street. He had just started going for his wand, scattering the bags to the ground, when Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.

"They have not drawn their wands" she said, and sure enough they had not. They came up to Harry, Hermione and the girls who began to run through defensive spells they knew.

"Harry Potter" said the leader.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"My Lord Voldemort has requested that I give you this box and this envelope. I have also been told to assure you that the note is not cursed in anyway" and with that the Death Eaters vanished on the spot.

"Well if that wasn't odd" said Harry under his breath. Although Voldemort was truly evil, as far as he could recall Harry had never been lied to by him. All the same though, he held the note at arms length before opening it.

_Dear Harry_

_I have decided to enter the festive spirit this year. Please find enclosed in the box three pairs of thick socks made from the hair of a golden fleece sheep._

_Regards_

_Lord Voldemort B.S.C S.S.C_

"I don't suppose someone spiked my tea this morning did they?" Harry asked his friends. "We better get going" he said, and led the way to Gringotts with the box buried deep in a bag. A few coins at Griphook's desk ensured a cart ride to Monument station – appearing at the far end of the station where a low level spell ensured that muggles thought that people had been there all the time – it solved the fact of witches and wizards popping up all the time and frightening the muggles.

# # # # #

They took another Northern line service back to Kings Cross before loading everything into the car and going back to the decoy garage. Once they parked up, Harry started transferring the things to Grimmauld Place with help from Maud and Enid. Mildred, Jadu and Hermione passed the packages out of the car. They had a fine lunch provided by Dobby before they left the house to go food shopping. Whilst Dobby could have done the job, all them agreed there was something about shopping themselves that gave an odd sense of pleasure.

"Now as we know what we want, we'll split threes and take a trolley" Hermione said. "Half of us will take one half of the store whilst the other takes… well the other I suppose" she finished weakly. Harry, Mildred and Enid went round and got stuff like meat, eggs, cheese, flour – both types of it, milk, currants, diced dried fruits and such whilst the others got the rest like crisps, fizzy drinks, chocolate, jam , multiple kinds of sweets, bread and four large catering packs of chips. They paid up and managed to carry the bags home where they sorted it all out and placed it in the correct parts of the pantry and cupboards. They had come home to a beef casserole cooked by Dobby, and the elf even served some butterbeer without asking. Harry made a note to increase his wages soon – before he went on holiday that was. After everyone had had their fill, it was decided to tackle the box that Voldemort had ordered his Death Eaters to deliver. The girls offered to this as they had a lot of experience in detection spells, so it was taken down to the basement for safety. The girls stood round it, raised and pointed their casting fingers and then began to chant

'_Flesruoy laever - xob eht fo stnetnoc_' and they kept it up for some time before Harry decided to simply walk over and open the lid. He peered inside and shook his head.

"Whats wrong?" asked Hermione with curiousity.

"The box of socks the girls just spent half an hour checking for dark spells, was, get this, a box of socks" and Harry had to admit that the socks would be very nice.

# # # # #

The next day saw them wave Dobby and Kreacher off on holiday before travelling to Kings Cross so they could board a train for Alton towers – or at least close enough. The group had a great time going on all the rides, eating candyfloss, bugers, chips and swilling it down with fizzy drinks. The good time lasted until Harry went to get the _Evening Prophet_ and saw the headlines on it.

_**BOY WHO LIVES A MURDERER?**_

_**DID HE KILL CEDRIC DIGGERY?**_

_**HAS HARRY POTTER TURNED DARK?**_

_**Read more inside today's **_**Prophet**

Harry nearly exploded with rage, and it was all Hermione could do to stop him from going to Hogwarts and blowing Dumbledore's brains out – though she actually doubted he had any in his thick skull.

"Let us think about this logically" she said soothingly. "Who would do something like this?" she asked.

"Ethel?" suggested Mildred.

"No, Millie. This is someone from our Hogwarts days. I bet anything you like that Dumbledore got this in the papers. He stands to get hold of the Black and Potter fortunes if they are confiscated from you in a conviction" and Harry slowly began calming down as Hermione explained the plan. They came up with a list of questions that needed to be asked, Harry went to change into formal Potter crested robes before returning downstairs in order to travel to the Ministry. Hermione and the others wanted to come with him, so they did, and the girls – bar Hermione – used the Floo for the first time to travel to the Ministry.

#

The Ministry was working on a skeleton staff due to the Christmas holiday, so there was only a token Auror guard on the Floo arrival points when Harry and the others arrived. The Auror saw that Harry was in a murderus mood, and so decided to not say anything but to call for some back up. They went straight to the DMLE where Harry demanded to see Madam Amelia Bones. When the witch on the desk said she wasn't in, Harry walked into the office with the other and they all sat as they waited the ten minutes for Madam Bones to arrive with the Aurors.

"So glad to see you, Madam Bones. And you brought company too!" Harry said sarcastically. "We need to talk, and we need to talk now" and Madam Bones shivered from the tone in his voice.

"You do know that there is a warrant out for your arrest?" she said.

"I should bloody think so" Harry said. "Now that is one reason I shall talk with you now. You can leave them lot outside" and Bones eyed the girls behind Harry.

"And them?"

"They stay" and in a few moments, the Aurors paced outside while Bones sat down in her chair and began to have the talk with Harry.

"So what can I help you with?" she asked.

"First of all, I want to know what the hell is going on? First Hermione and me get kicked out of Hogwarts and now I've gone to the dark side of the force and am seemingly a murderer. I read that you signed the warrant personally" Harry said.

"Yes, that's correct" Bones replied. "It is the opinion of the Chief Warlock and the Minister that you have become a member of You-Know-Who's forces and mut therefore be captured" but Hermione snorted.

"How can he be captured when the warrant is for leathal force?" Harry said, and threw down the paper with the section underlined.

"That is only if you are to resist" bones said.

"You should be lucky" Harry snarled. "Now we have a list of questions that we want answering, and I don't think we'll be leaving this office until we'll all satisified with the answers" and Hermione handed him the list of questions. It ran to two sheets of note pad paper.

"Why not surrender, Harry…" but Hermione cut Bones off.

"Only his friends get to call him Harry" she said.

"And you are not one of them" Mildred added.

"Who exactly are you?" asked Madam Bones.

"Who we are, is not your concern" said Enid sharply.

"You should concern yourself with answering the questions" said Jadu.

"First question" said Harry. "When was the warrant requested?" he asked.

"October 31st.

"And when was it issued?"

"That same night"

"What was the reason given behind it?"

"Dumbledore suspects that you are in league with Voldemort, have been training with him since you left Hogwarts and are planning a major attack on magical Britain"

"Oh, does he now…?" Harry chuckled. "Knowing me as well as you do, have I ever given any indication that I would turn dark?" he asked Bones.

"Well not before, but if Dumbledore says its so, then it must be so"

"Okay…" said Hermione, "lets tell you what really happened. We got expelled from Hogwarts because we were supposedly too dangerous to keep there. Then at Halloween, he shows up as a guest of the Grand Wizard and tried to attack Harry because he supposedly murdered Cedric and nearly killed Ron in the battle of the Ministry. If anything, I was worse off from the attacks that night" she finished.

"So this is what we are going to do" Harry said. "You are going to cancel the warrant, let me go here without any problems, and I shall send you information on a terrorist organisation that infects your very department among others, and if you are really lucky then I might just find my way to letting you review a memory of the graveyard fight. Voldemort was really rather stupid in actually naming everyone present who arrived that night! I am sure we can come to some deal" and Bones was too shocked to speak much when she found out that two terrorist groups had infected the Ministry.

"Stamper!" she shouted, and an Auror came in with his wand out.

"Yes, Director?"

"I want you to go to the stores, get any and all pensieve memory recorders and bring them back here. Once you have done that, you are to only let the Minister himself on to this floor, and that is the only other person allowed in the department until I say so. Failure to comply with these orders shall result in instant dismissal and imprisonment. For you and the others that is" and the Auror looked confused.

"But I thought that he was supposed to be arrested or eliminated" he said confused.

"It seems that we have been decieved" Bones said, "Now carry out your orders" and within fifteen minutes, everything had been delivered to the office. When they came out an hour later, Madam Bones was pale while the girls were shaking like leaves.

"You see the depth of the problem" Harry said. He too was slightly shaking and pale from having to go through the whole attack, and the battle of the graveyard. It was such a secret he had kept that not even Hermione had ever seen it.

"I will get this sorted out at once" Bones promised. "I cant believe that there are so many Death Eaters in the Ministry. And as for this Order of Dumbledore's…" she shook her head in disgust.

"I'd keep an eye on Tonks and Shaklebolt" Hermione cautioned her. "Those two are high up members of the Order" she added.

"I never suspected a thing" Bones said. "Well you better get going home. If Dumbledore finds out you are here, he might attempt to do something. This is out of character for him completely" and with that, she showed them out the office via her personal floo connection. Hermione and Maud went to the kitchen to begin cooking dinner, and most of the others set about setting the table for eating. Harry went to the drinks cabinet, not touched since he had ownership of the house transferred to him, and drank three shots of firewhiskey to calm his nerves. The stress of the memories too much for him to handle whilst sober.

# # # # #

"Harry?" asked a voice. He turned around to see the person who had spoken.

"Sit down, Millie" and he indicated a space on the settee next to him. The study was dark except for the light of the fireplace which caused the place to take on a gothic look with the fire's light casting shadows all around.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Mildred.

"Not really" Harry sighed. "Its just that all those memories bring back… well memories I suppose" he smiled thinly. "Nobody knew of exactly what I went through during the graveyard battle, though I told them some of it. I have to admit that I was able to block them from seeing what I didn't want anyone else to see" abd there was a pause – broken only by the crackling of the fire.

"You don't have to tell me, Harry" Mildred said quietly.

"I might as well tell someone, Millie, but if its Hermione then she'll just be overprotective. While I was with my reletives, I was abused" Harry said.

"You told me this befo…"

"Sexually"

"Oh" Mildred was quietened for a while. "Bastards!" she cursed which made Harry laugh.

"I think I needed that" he chuckled, but then it stopped and he became dark minded again. "I was five years old when it first happened. My Uncle was drunk, dragged me out of the cupboard under the stairs and just did it. My Aunt was cheering him on all the time. He did it once a week, but spent the intervening time touching me" and tears ran down his face. "I tried to get away from it all, but it went on until I got my Hogwarts letter – at long last" and Mildred put an arm around her friend and held him as he cried. She couldn't believe how people could treat little children in that way. Harry fell asleep hours later and Mildred watched as he shuddered slightly every so often. She made a Witches Oath to help Harry in any way she could. Although she had only known Harry and Hermione for a short time, Maud, Enid, Ruby, Jadu and herself counted them in the group of Best Friends For Life as they had done so much for them. She had thought facing Agatha Cackle and her cronies, The Uninvited and Mistress Broomhead was about all the terror they could expect, but that paled when compared to the horror Harry had been through.

# # # # #

"Whats up with Harry?" asked Hermione at breakfast.

"He didn't get to bed until late last night" Mildred said. "I came down for some hot milk and found him going through something" she added.

"Well I expect that he was quite worked up over what happened in Bones' office yesturday" Hermione said, and she sipped her tea.

"Whats the plan for today?" asked Enid.

"Nothing much" said Hermione. "There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be done, and I do some of it for Harry. I think he has another day of shopping tomorrow, but that might be for presents" and they continued breakfast. As it was, Harry did come down until mid morning, and he decided to take them all out to a cinema and a resturant for dinner afterwards that evening. Harry was aware of the fact he was spending money got a bit lately, but he felt it was worth it when you could spend it on friends. A part of him suspected that he was compensating for all the years he never had them.

# # # # #

Jadu was being carried by Enid and Maud as she had fallen and twisted her ankle whilst walking down the street when they got a Taxi home. Harry was about to put the key into the lock of number 12 when he sensed something. At a scrapeing noise, he turned to see a dark shape come running out of the shadows of the house next door. He whipped out his wand and brought it to bear on the figure. He was about to fire on them when it ran right past him and, flinging its arms around her, hugged Mildred tightly.

"Oh Millie…" it wailed. "Oh Millie…" and Mildred could see the person a bit more clearer in the streetlight's glare.

"Ruby?" she frowned in the darkness. "I thought you were staying with your parents" the girl added.

"Lets get her inside" Hermione said. She too had her wand out and scanning for danger. Once everyone was safely inside Number 12 Grimmauld Place and had a hot chocolate in their hands, the others attempted to get information from a clearly distressed Ruby Cherrytree.

"What happened?" asked Mildred softly.

"I was gettting decorations down from the loft when there was a lot of banging and the door blew off the hinges. Then a couple of witches came in and started casting spells around and doing lots of damage. I came down ready to defend everyone when I heard…" Ruby went into another round of tears, crying and howls of pain.

"What happened?" asked Maud, sliding off her chair and to the floor.

"Agatha was with two robed and hooded figures. She said she had joined with a group that had mainly the same aims as she did. She gave my parents a chance to surrender before… before…." Ruby took a deep breath as she finished the sentence. "…before she killed them. Oh, Maud" and she buried herself in Maud's arms. "I just paniced and thought of being here with you, and I've been here since then waiting for you to come back" and Harry sighed as his features became a dark cloud once more.

"Harry?" Jadu had her held at an questioning angle.

"It seems that Miss Cackle's sister has joined forces with the Death Eaters" Harry said, and the room gasped, or at least nearly all them did – Ruby was still sobbing into Maud. "Now I would have suggested contacting the Ministry, but that is out of the question. I do not trust Madam Bones as much as I have said I do. For the time being, we better get Ruby to bed but she'll need comforting. If you can get her to bed, then I'll whip up a half dozen sleeping bags so you can all be near her" and Hermione nodded.

"I'll grab a few bottles of Dreamless Sleep potion as well as a Calming Draught" she said, and helped Jadu get up the stairs by floating her up them. Harry watched them take the sobbing girl up stairs before creating sleeping bags for the six girls to use. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was at fault for what had happened to Ruby and her family. He would have to contact Cackle and Hardbroom after he had got some sleep in the morning.

**A/N:**

**First of all, to those who looked at the warning and still hate me for the contents, I shall remind you that I am the author and I will write what I want. However, I did give a **_**VERY**_** clear warning at the beginning so please don't complain. I will not be showing any graphic scenes, but I'm assuming Harry will show Hermione the images eventually from his mind and therefore I might revisit this in a little bit more detail. Of course, I will NOT repeat NOT show the actual stuff. This chapter's inclusion was to show how mean the Dursleys are in this fic.**

**Now before anyone asks, I am aware that Harry should be driving a Hummer, but Hermione mentioned he used his fame to get hold of the Millitary version – the Humvee. I guess he used that to get his licence and driving lessons as well.**

**Been a little bit sneaky here – can anyone guess why Harry and group went to Monument station on the tube? There is a reason why, and it is connected to the HP films. The first person to say why will receive a cameo appearance in the next chapter.**

**The bit with Voldemort giving Harry socks for Christmas is just him confusing Harry as he was planning to do so. And on the plus side, Harry has new socks to wear!**

**The last little thing was something I thought of to have a twist to the story and also to keep you all interested.**

**Regards**

**Pixel**

**PS: Chapter dedicated to the SEAL team that took out Bin Laden! Have one on me boys (raises glass of beer)! **


	5. Picking Up The Pieces – Traps Spring

**Picking Up The Pieces – Traps Spring**

Harry and the others took turns at looking after Ruby until the morning came. Harry went with Mildred and Enid to the Ministry and casually flicked away Aurors who tried to stop them, and then went into the office of Madam Bones.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, you can" Harry said. "Could you perhaps tell me the reason why I was not alerted to the death of the parents of one of my friends?" he asked.

"I do not know what you mean, Harry…"

"Mr Potter"

"…Mr Potter. Can you be a bit more concise?" asked Bones.

"Ruby Cherrytree's parents were killed in front of her by Agatha Cackle and two Death Eaters, dark magic was used and yet the Aurors never arrived?" Mildred said.

"I was under the impression that at the first sign of Dark Magic the Aurors were supposed to be deployed. Perhaps you can tell me why our friend is clearly suffering from fighting three grown magic users?" Enid said.

"I say we just cut to the chase and take out the Death Eaters ourselves" said Mildred – her normally mild mannered self giving way to anger.

"I second that, Millie" said Harry, and then turned to Bones. "Now we're going to have an investigation as to what failed last night. Then you're going to hold a formal inquiry finishing with compensation. Ruby will live with us until she is of age, and if any one from the Ministry attempts to take her away and into a care home, I shall immediately begin criminal proceedings" he added darkly.

"Get started" said Mildred and Enid at the same time. Bones had never before been frightened in her life. She had been threatened by the most powerful person on the planet, and backed up by two witches who used older magical talents.

"I'll get to it" said the woman.

"You've badly let us down" said Mildred.

"And we might not be so forgiving next time" Enid added.

"This I can understand" said Bones, and she started writing out notes and sending them on their way. "Is there anything else?" she asked.

"Actually there is…" Harry said thickly. "If anybody tries to attack us, then they will be met with deadly force. Good Day" and with that the three left Bones feeling very shaken indeed.

# # # # #

_THUMP THUMP THUMP_

"I see you're back" Hermione said. "Ruby has gone back to her room and keeps looking out the window blankly. We tried to get her to eat something, but she is just not having it" and Mildred and Enid felt like ripping Voldemort's head off right at that moment. They went upstairs to the room where they had put Ruby whilst Harry wrote a letter to Miss Cackle asking for advice. After it was sent, Harry sat with Hermione leaning on his shoulder.

"Why does everyone hate me?" he asked her.

"I think they are jealous of your good looks" Hermione said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

"I thought as much" Harry said. "But seriously, Mione, why is it that every single place I go there is danger to everyone around me?" and Hermione closed her eyes in thought.

"It isn't your fault these things happen, Harry – you know that. There will always be good witches and wizards, and there will always be evil witches and wizards. Nothing you can do will change that. But maybe with a year away from the bullying that Malfoy gave you, you can become a more relaxed person. You've got on well enough with Mildred and the girls for a start…" and Hermione felt Harry shift slightly.

"Nothing wrong with that" he said a little too quickly.

"Oh so you _do_ like Mildred" Hermione sat up and looked into his eyes.

"And the others" he admitted under her stare.

"And me…?"

"Well I suppose I could squeeze you around me" said Harry with a wink.

"Oh you rotter…."

"Well as I can't decide, I might as well have a harem" Harry said, and Hermione burst into giggles.

"You have a sense of humour" she said.

"Who said I was joking?" Harry said with a straight face. "It is still legal in the wizarding world" and Hermione looked at him with a serious expression on her face.

"You're not joking are you" she asked him.

"You'll have to find out" said Harry, getting up from the sofa. Hermione looked at his retreating back with a look of shock passing over her face.

"_You can not be serious_" she whispered.

# # # # #

Harry went upstairs to Ruby's bedroom, and found the door was open with Mildred and Enid sitting comforting the girl. She was still having difficulty in understanding that her parents were dead, and that she would never see them again. She hugged Harry tightly as if he was about to vanish somewhere.

"Thank you for letting me stay" she said through the tears and sobs that racked her body.

"You'll always have a home here" Harry told her gently, peeling her off himself, and handing her back to the girls. "The Aurors should have been to save you" he continued, "But for some reason they never got the report of an attack. I'm having that investigated right now" Harry said, as he sat on the floor.

"But what am I going to do about my school fees?" Ruby said. "It is quite a lot, and I don't have all that much saved up"

"We'll think of something" said Enid.

"Maybe we can get Miss Cackle to put you on a scholarship like me" suggested Mildred.

"That only works when you base it on a fam… on expected income" Enid said, changing what she was going to say.

"I'll have to leave and get some dead end job" Ruby said, eyes still producing tears.

"We'll think of something" said Mildred. "Perhaps Miss Cackle will let you finish school for free – you have helped to save it a number of times" she added.

"But Miss Hardbroom wouldn't like it" Ruby said quietly.

"I'll take care of HB" said Harry.

"That's nice of you, Harry. I don't think I can stay at Cackles until I have finished my education. Maybe if I sold some of my things, I would have enough money to pay for my education until term finishes" Ruby said, her tears stopping falling down her dark chocolate skin.

"Lets try not to think about it for now" said Enid. "We have things to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. Now" she continued, "Do your parents have any particular way they wanted to be… um… taken care of?" she finished lamely.

"Dad said he wanted his ashes shot out of a cannon, but I am almost certain he was joking" Ruby smiled faintly.

"There is time for that" said Harry gently. "I'll get you something to eat, and you get yourself sorted out. When you feel up to your place and pick up what you want to take with you" and Ruby squeezed his hand.

"Thank you, Harry. You're very sweet you know" and she and the other two giggled at the blush that appeared on Harry's face. "What am I going to do about the stuff I can not take with me?" she added, her face deepened into a frown as she spoke.

"We'll store it all away for you" Enid said.

"Yes, I'm sure there is someplace for you to put things" Mildred said.

"Well I'm sure we can come up with something over breakfast" Harry said. "I don't know about you, but scaring Ministry officials gives me an appetite" and Ruby smiled weakly again before getting up and sorting herself out for the day. The others left her alone, headed downstairs and started making plans.

# # # # #

"I brought the patrol details, Ma'am" said an Auror.

"Thank you, Smithers" said Bones. She spent the next hour going through the detailed logs of the Auror patrol for the period that Ruby's parents were killed. "WHAT THE FUCK?" the woman exploded. "Somebody get me Harry Potter here this instant!" she shouted, and an urgent summons was sent to Grimauld Place. Never before had Amelia Bones seen such disgrace on the Corp and the Ministry as a whole. Fudge was an idiot, but this was way beyond his level of lunacy.

# # # # #

"… and all that stuff" said Hermione.

"I nearly forgot, do you know where my parents are?" asked Ruby.

"In a muggle hospital" said Hermione, and the other girls looked shocked at her.

"Don't say that word" Enid said.

"What?"

"_Muggle_" Maud hissed. "That is as about a foul term as you can get" she added.

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise. "We were taught that it was the correct term at Hogwarts" he explained.

"Clearly the teaching methods at Hogwarts are crap" said Jadu, limping slightly from the ankle she had twisted.

"So what do you call mug… non magical people?" Hermione asked.

"We just call them normals, if you want to be formal about it" said Mildred. "Mostly though we treat them like any other person" she added.

"We'll it seems Hogwarts _was_ a bad source of education towards non magic users" Hermione mused. "The information was quite out of date" she went on.

"Well at least we know now. I'm surprised it didn't get to be a topic before" Harry said. "But we have to think about what to do about Ruby. You don't know me as long as Mildred, Enid, Maud or Jadu for instance, but you can count on my help anytime" he said to Ruby, and she smiled a little stronger.

"Thanks" she said.

"Same goes for me" Hermione said.

"A shame it happened so close to Christmas" said Enid sadly.

"I know it might be sounding wrong, but perhaps we can make the best out of it" said Harry. He was about to speak when the Floo flared up and a hand came drifting through and dropped an envelope before it retreated back into the flames.

"Bit early for post" said Hermione in puzzlement.

"It has a Ministry seal" Harry said. "Wonder what it says…" he tore the seal and pulled out the note inside. "It's from Madam Bones" he said. "She wants to meet with me most urgently" and he gathered his wand and cloak before starting for the Ministry – with the girls hot behind him. The group took both lifts to Madam Bones and sat or stood in her office as she explained what had caused her to want Harry back so quickly.

"As a matter of routine, Mr Potter, each patrol or squad of Aurors that goes out signs the time they left and the time they got back" she said. "They also write if anything happened during that period, or if they received orders while out in the field. I asked for the details of the Auror patrols that should have been near your home, Miss Cherrytree, and it seems that the group of Aurors received orders to get themselves to another part of the country…" Bones didn't finish he sentence.

"What are you not telling me?" asked Ruby.

"I am afraid that I can not tell you, Miss Cherrytree" said Bones, "Due to this investigation being ordered at Mr Potter's request, only he may be told about the identity of the orders issuer" she said, and Ruby looked her dead in the eye.

"Amelia Bones, I lost my parents less then 12 hours ago. I saw them killed in the most brutal fashion one could ever see. I heard their screams, smelled their deaths and that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have been and returned to the Ninth Circle of Hell, got the souvenirs and came back again. Now if you do not want me to shove that monocle of yours where the sun doesn't shine, you'll tell me and my friends who issued those orders. If you still say no, then I will personally rip your head off with my bare hands" Ruby's voice was cold with the threat she had just issued hanging in the air.

"And if she doesn't manage to get to you, then _we_ will" said Maud.

"You are being silly" Bones said. "I could defeat you before you got a spell off" she added.

"Care to try me on for size?" Harry said. "Tell her who did it, or I shall most certainly tell her who gave the orders straight away. Do as I ask or I shall tear you to shreds with rumours and gossip" and Bones moved her chair backwards slightly. In all her years as an Auror and head of the DMLE, never had she encountered someone of such power. Harry was radiating so much power around him, she doubted that she would even see the withdrawal of his wand as she died.

"According to the logs, Albus Dumbledore issued orders for that night's Auror patrol to move to Cardiff" Bones said.

"Hermione, make us a copy of that please" Harry said, and Hermione took out her wand and duplicated the records, and put the originals back on the desk. "Now would you like a little deal?" Harry said to Bones who could only nod numbly in reply. "You keep everything a secret about what we spoke about in here. In return, we'll take out a few minor Death Eaters and send them along to your Aurors. That way" he continued, "You look good in the eyes of the public as the Aurors have been doing something. Good Day, Madam Bones" and with that the group departed the office and left behind a very badly shaken Madam Bones who reached into her desk for the five and a half gallon bottle of Firewhiskey.

# # # # #

"I don't know what came over me" said Ruby in surprise. "I felt anger towards the ones that caused my parents deaths" and Harry assured her that it was natural to feel that way. That afternoon, they had taken a portkey to a house belonging to Harry near to where Ruby had lived, and still technically did.

"Pack what you want" said Hermione gently. "Me and Harry will shrink the rest for you and get it locked away safe" she added.

"Actually, I'm going to scan for traces of magical energy. I want to see who the Death Eaters were" Harry said, and he headed for the front door with wand in his hand.

"He cares a great deal about this, doesn't he" said Jadu.

"Yes he does" said Hermione with sadness in her voice.

"Something the matter?" asked Maud.

"Well you know how Harry is supposed to be the one to take down Voldemort?" Hermione asked and the others nodded, "Well anyone he knows is killed. His parents, Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black… others as well. Harry takes each death as a personal failure, and sometimes pushes himself to exhaustion in order to track down and punish those responsible for the attacks. And you've all seen him drop and roll with his wand out whenever there is a loud bang… well this is a topic for another day" Hermione finished, and she took out her wand and gave a few waves as some of the Cherrytree family furniture shrank small enough to go into the bottomless trunk they had brought with them.

"I'll go up and help Ruby" said Jadu, and she went up and helped her friend to pack her belongings into cases.

"BASTARDS!" Harry's cursing made them jump, and Hermione finished her spell as he came into the house from the kitchen.

"Who was it?" she asked.

"Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape" Harry said. "There was another trace, but I don't recognise it" he added.

"That'll be Agatha's" said Mildred. She, like the other girls, knew little about how Harry and Hermione could tell who had been in a certain room. The girl did know though that the detectors they both had in their rooms could be adjusted to filter out their friend's signatures. This had proven useful when Ethel had snuck into Hermione's room and hidden her spell books. They had never said anything to Miss Hardbroom about it, but Hermione had simply popped into Ethel's room and popped out again with them in her arms – leaving a note behind her on the bed.

"Well I'll label it as such when we get back" Harry said, and then he twitched his head as he heard soft popping noises outside.

"Harry?" Enid was puzzled by Harry's sudden change.

"Trouble" he said, and left the house to stand in the front garden with Hermione several steps behind him.

"I never thought you would go so low as to loot from a house that was attacked, Harry" Tonks said. "But maybe if you come with us now Professor Dumbledore can let you off lightly" she added.

"Actually, Hermione and I are here at the specific request of the house's new owner" Harry said with his wand at the ready, but not actually pointing at Tonks, Kingsley and someone he thought was Hesetia Jones.

"The sale of the house has not yet taken place, so you can not be. Now come with us, and we'll see what we can do for you" said Kingsley in a deep but smooth voice.

"It is all for the best" said Jones.

"The new owner of this house is Miss Ruby Cherrytree, and she has requested the presence of myself, Hermione and her other friends in order to secure the contents of the house" Harry said calmly and patiently.

"He is telling the truth" said a voice, and Ruby came out of the house and joined Harry's side. "You are trespassing on my property, and unless you have a search warrant then I would you like to remove yourselves from my land" she said.

"We've been looking for you" said Kingsley. "You must be taken care of until we can put you with a family and sent to Hogwarts" he went on.

"Over my rotting corpse" Hermione said. "Now if you didn't hear both Harry and Ruby clearly, then I'll repeat the message. You are not welcome here at all, and as it is clear you have no search or arrest warrants on you, you will leave at once. You will not like what happens next" she promised.

"And what is that?" asked Jones.

"You get suspended from front line service and get to patrol a desk or Azkaban" came the reply.

"We do not take orders from children" said Tonks.

"But you _do_ take orders from a member of the Ancient and Most Noble houses right? So I'm giving you such an order right now, in accordance with the Daae Regulations of 1835. You are to return to the Ministry, report what you have done to Madam Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, hand in your badges, clear your lockers or whatever you have and put yourselves on suspension" Harry said, and he sadistically liked the colour draining from their faces. "Do you understand?" he asked.

"Orders received and understood, Sir" and with that they vanished on the spot.

"Bad ass, Harry" Hermione said as she put her wand down.

"Well they shouldn't mess with me or my friends, Mione – you know that of all people" Harry said. "I think we should get away from here as quickly as possible" and everyone agreed and doubled their efforts.

#

They walked into Gringotts just as it closed for the day, and the Goblin they spoke to said he could not do business that day. Hermione explained the situation to him, and he led them to a small lounge with big armchairs inside. Griphook came a few minutes later with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked. "I was just about to order the doors closed for the night when I heard of your arrival from the Teller. He is new here, and did not realise our policy towards you, Mr Potter" and Harry smiled.

"We all have to start somewhere, Griphook" he chuckled before his expression and demeanor hardened. "I've come to open vaults for my friends, and we shall be needing to place furniture in the one for Ruby. If possible, could we have ones near to each other?" Harry asked.

"As a matter of fact you may" said Griphook. "There is a cave free which has just enough for your needs" and they spent an hour filling in forms before taking ownership of the vaults. "I assume you do not wish ownership notices to be passed on to the Ministry?" Griphook said.

"Exactly" said Hermione. "We don't want many people to know about this. I assume you can keep it mainly secret" and Griphook nodded.

"We shall simply not file notices with the Ministry" the Goblin said. "It happens from time to time" and Hermione shared a knowing look with him.

"I am certain it does" Harry said with the same look. They travelled in two carts down to the vaults, and Ruby took out her family's furniture and put it in her vault where she successfully resized it with her casting fingers only slightly aching. Harry and Hermione assured her that it would take a few times before her magic accepted a different way of doing things. Little did they know that Madam Bones was ripping Tonks, Kingsley and Jones a new one.

#

"YOU BLOODY INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" she thundered so loudly her door rattled. "I have had Harry Potter in my office twice today, and both times I feared for my job. Now I find that he has imposed the Daae Regulations on the three of you, after you accused him and Hermione Granger of looting from a damaged house. You were told by him that he was there by invitation of the new owner of the house, and then told by the owner herself. You then say you'll take him to Albus Dumbledore who will let him go free if he cooperates with him" Madam Bones was really tearing into the three. "My hands are tied in this matter for now. You three are suspended from active duty from the Auror Corps. There is someone outside to escort you to your lockers and desks so you may clear out anything you wish to take with you. I will try to arrange a meeting with Mr Potter sometime in the – hopefully – near future. I just can not believe three of my best Aurors accuse the saviour of the world of looting from a damaged house, even when the owner told you she had invited him there. And while we're on the subject, why were you three not at Hogsmeade as you were supposed to be?" Bones pulled out a large, red and leather covered book. "I checked the logs a couple of minutes ago, and there was no mention of orders being changed, an emergency that required your assistance nor was there anything to indicate you had abandoned your posts with good reason" and Tonks spoke.

"Professor Dumbledore asked us to do it as part of our Order membership" she said.

"Ah this legendary Order of the Phoenix" Bones said, allowing her monocle to fall from her eye. "A group that is not registered at the Ministry, and that makes it an illegal group" she went on.

"We did it to save Harry from the darkness that he has fallen into" Kingsley said. "Professor Dumbledore said he was going dark, and that we had to get him back to Hogwarts before he was too far gone" he added.

"The order did not come from the Chief Warlock, but rather an old and demented man, the leader of an illegal group who is clearly an entire hamper short of a picnic" Bones said. "I suspect he asked you to do it because he knew that doing so otherwise would involve you putting the orders into the patrol log" Amelia Bones had never been so angry in all her working life before. "As I said before, you will be suspended until I can arrange a Court Martial for each of you. Because of your otherwise spotless records over your years of service, I will try to see if Mr Potter will ask for leniency in sentencing you sorry lot. If you are lucky, _AND ONLY IF_, you might be able to keep your jobs but at a lower rank then you are currently. And to ensure that you do not attempt to circumvent the fact you are suspended, I am ordering you to be placed under house arrest" and she couldn't resist one more moment of anger. "NOW GET OUT OF MY OFFICE, YOU SORRY BASTARDS!" and with that they left with their colleagues escorting them to the Auror squad room and ensuring they took nothing that did not belong to them. Out of the three, only Tonks was allowed to go home in her Auror robes as she never used the locker rooms to change and therefore couldn't change into anything else. The escort was sure that Madam Bones was not so angry as to have Tonks walk through the Ministry naked, and when they reported back with the trio's badges she agreed with their decision.

# # # # #

Somehow the news spread of the arrest of three Aurors, and the press was not kind towards the group at all.

**MINISTRY PLAYS TO POTTER'S TUNE**

**#**

**AURORS ARRESTED ON ORDERS OF BOY-WHO-LIVED**

**#**

**BOY-WHO-LIVED UNDER CONTROL OF DARK WITCHES**

**#**

**CALLS FOR ARREST OF GROUP**

"And we fight to keep these people safe?" Hermione asked in disgust.

"Will you reply?" asked Mildred.

"Doing so would only fuel more rumours and spoil Christmas" Harry replied.

"And do you live with scary witches?" asked Ruby with a small smile.

"Hermione has been known to go mad when she doesn't get her daily dose of the library" Harry said with a sideways look at his longest friend.

"I wonder if the includes HB" asked Enid.

"A very good question, Miss Nightshade" said the voice of Hardbroom. They all turned to see Miss Hardbroom getting up off the floor, having arrived via the Floo network. "Damned silly things" she muttered, and the fireplace flared up and out came Miss Cackle.

"Good Evening" she said. "Miss Cherrytree, you have both mine and the entire staff's condolences on your most recent loss. If there is anything you might need, then please let me know" and Ruby thanked her Headmistress.

"I apologise for being so late in coming, but Miss Cackle was taken quite aback by the fact her sister had killed non magical users" Hardbroom said. Her normally stern expression was softened by the reason of her visit.

"I had the others to take care of me" said Ruby.

"We took the chance to go to Ruby's house and take all the furniture, shrink it and put it into a secure bank vault" Mildred said, slightly afraid of her form mistress being in the room.

"Do you have any idea where you might be staying?" asked Miss Cackle, taking a cup of tea given to her by Jadu - Miss Hardbroom taking one as well.

"Well Harry has said I can stay here for the holidays" said Ruby, "But I don't have any other living relatives. I suppose I'll have to be fostered or adopted" she said with a little sadness.

"That is most unfortunate" said Miss Cackle. "I am certain that the Witches Guild will make some kind of effort to place you in a magical home, but that is not very likely. I and Miss Hardbroom know about many of the members on the guild. I believe you will be placed with a highly ranked family and have a lot of your money taken as compensation" and she shook her head.

"Miss Cherrytree could always stay in the school" said Hardbroom. "It has happened before a few times when pupils have been unable to return home because of an infectious disease" and the teens looked at her.

"I could stay at the school?" asked Ruby carefully.

"I realise that it is not a proper home" said Miss Cackle, catching on to what her Deputy was thinking, "But many of the school rules would not be in effect, so you would be able to come and go as you please, but you would have to let us know when you would be coming back" and Ruby was thoughtful for a while before accepting the offer. She also received permission to add things to her room in order to have reminders of her family.

"May I have a word, Mr Potter?" asked Miss Cackle. Harry nodded, and the two of them went into the study to speak.

"What can I help you with?" he asked her.

"Your second note that reached us said you were able to trace Agatha through her magic. Now both myself and Miss Hardbroom are talented in many ways, but none of us can do this level" Cackle thought about her next words for a moment. "I understand that you and Hermione create privacy charms and wards with little effort. Is it possible that you could do this for the school? We have a few ourselves, but with my sister now in league with these Death Eaters, I fear she might gain new powers and attempt an assault of the castle. If there is anything you could both do to even slow her down…" she trailed off.

"Well I have been thinking about it myself" Harry told her, "And we might be able to set something up once we get back. The main thing is to key the wards to those who might come and go a lot, and only to those holding an invitation" he went on. "Me and Hermione will come up with something for you, but I assumed that Miss Hardbroom was tough enough to take out any trouble" and Miss Cackle laughed a little.

"In every attack on the school since I employed Constance, every attacker has always taken out her _first_" cackle said, slightly pleased that the attackers put a lot of effort into taking out Hardbroom first.

# # # # #

"Angels and Ministers of grace: defend us" Madam Bones said thickly as she went for transcripts and documents.

"Hamlet, Act 1 scene 4" said a passing Auror.

"Muggleborns…" Bones cursed.

# # # # #

"The girl survived, but she is being looked after by Potter and the other girls" Moody said. "From what I've heard, he used very old rules to have them three suspended and put under open arrest" he added.

"This is very good" said Dumbledore. "Severus, be sure to take the muggles as payment for the attack by the Death Eaters. I am sure that they will like to have a little play before killing them" Dumbledore sat in his armchair and smiled whilst his eyes twinkled in delight.

"The Dark Lord expects you to keep to your end of the bargain" Snape said.

"Tell him I have not forgotten" Dumbledore said. "I shall have to work hard to convince Harry that he was wrong to have those three arrested. Although I know he holds me in a low regard for some reason, I am certain that I can get him to see reason. For now, we must arrange for small attacks so that he will come running to us by the end of the year. Our contact inside says that he and Miss Granger are well liked by most of the pupils there" he added.

"Who is our contact?" asked Snape.

"Hallow" said Moody. "Ethel Hallow"

**A/N:**

**Another exciting chapter for you... Honestly, you wait a week or so for an update, and then several turn up at once!**

**Anyone wants to contact me on skype, my name is HMS_Indefatigable**

**#**

**Now before you all ask, Ethel is not a Death Eater, but she is passing on information about the gang to them. I haven't decided yet if this is off her own back or if she is being made to do it somehow.**

**Ruby mentioning that she had been to the Ninth Circle Of Hell is a homage to Kimmeth's story "Inferno" as it the Daae regulations for NewChristineDaae.**

**Regards**

**Robert – my **_**real **_**name!**


	6. Oh Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas T

**Oh, Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time**

It was Christmas Eve, and the last minute preparations were being made for the following day, and Ruby tried to put on a brave face, but the others could tell she was hurting deep inside her soul. Harry knew from what had happened to both Cedric and Sirius that Ruby would be wondering if she could have done more. Would it have been possible to save her parents if she had been downstairs at the time of the attack? The funeral had been a couple of days ago, and as services go it was a rather nice one. Ruby had nearly gone insane as she watched her parents' coffins being lowered into the ground, and her friends had taken turns to hold her as she sobbed out some of the grief. At that exact moment, lunch was ready, and so she walked along one of the short landings and found Harry sitting in an armchair in a blue and purple walked room, and looking at a leather bound album of pictures.

"Lunch is ready" she said.

"Thanks" Harry said, and closed the album as he stood.

"Your parents?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah" Harry said as he shut the door. "Even though I don't remember much about them, I still miss the pair of them" and Ruby paused at the door of the kitchen.

"Does it ever get better?" she asked him.

"Jesus…" Harry said, quietly shaking his head, "I hope it never does" and he walked into the kitchen to try whatever Mildred had made. Just as they were finishing a casserole, it started snowing heavily and so they wrapped up warmly, applied warming charms on themselves and went out for a walk. They went down a little covered market place where someone was selling roasted chestnuts in little paper bags from a hand painted wooden cart. They stopped in the _Leaky Cauldron_ for a warm butterbeer before heading down the Alley to look at all the lights shining off the crisp white snow as it was now getting very dark indeed. Harry thought it was all very Victorian with all the lanterns hanging off doors, and cloaks hanging off people.

# # # # #

"Hermione's gone to get those oranges" Maud said as Harry walked into the kitchen with an armful of carrots which he set on the chopping board.

"Right" he said, and moved over to look at the goose that was slowly cooking alongside the chicken and the turkey. Once he was satisfied with how it was all going, he sat down for a little while and drank some tea as he read a few letters that had come in the post that morning. Mainly it was from people wanting him to open their new shop or some such like that. The other three were cards and letters from Tom at the _Leaky Cauldron_, Gringotts and one from Olivander. There was much to do before celebrating Christmas the following day, and Harry was soon chopping down wood from a small wood outside London with his wand to put on the fire. When he got back, Hermione was sipping a small Firewhiskey which was for medicinal purposes as it was very cold outside.

"I got the last of the shopping" she told him the moment she saw him. "Means we've got the rest of the day off" Hermione added.

"As soon as we've got these potatoes pealed and sliced" said Maud from the sink. Once it was done, there as a lot of excitement in the house, and they played party games until it was early evening.

"Too late to go snowballing" Jadu muttered as she looked out the window.

"A pity we couldn't go to the Arctic and mess around there" said Enid.

"Why not?" Harry spoke. "It is easy enough to portkey there…" and they rushed to dress warmly as possible before portkeying to the North Pole. They spent a lot of time playing in the snow, and Harry managed to get the other side beaten after he had bewitched the snowballs he had made to throw themselves at random times as he tunnelled underneath to Hermione's side and got them from behind. They portkeyed back to Grimmauld Place where they decided to go straight to bed.

#

Harry had trudged round in his wet clothes when he heard a noise. He put out his dripping wand and held it out only to find Mildred standing in her bedroom wearing her soaked jeans, shirt and other things.

"Oh Harry…" she sniffed "I'm so cold and wet that I can't get my clothes off" and Harry felt sorry for her, and a little embarrassed. The others had all gone to sleep already, and he was the only one left to deal with it.

"I'm sure we can get you sorted" Harry said kindly. "I'll help you to get some of it off, and then you can do the rest. We can go sit downstairs by the fire if you want" and Mildred nodded, and Harry helped her out the shirt and jeans so she stood in only her wet and skin tight scarlet red bra and knickers.

"Cou…could you at least undo the clasp?" Mildred asked. Harry smiled as he undid the clasp of the bra and then left the room for Mildred's privacy. He himself nipped into his room and took off her wet clothes, dried himself off with a quick spell and dressed in light cotton pyjama trousers and an old t-shirt that bore I KICKED THE DARK LORD'S ARSE THREE TIMES, AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT on the front. Slipping on a dressing gown, he made his way downstairs and met a still shivering Mildred.

"Come here" he said, and opened his arms so that she could snuggle in so she could take some of his body heat. A bit of wandless magic created a blazing fire, and the pair settled down on the floor in a blanket that Harry kept nearby for such a use. They started to get warm slowly, and Mildred put her head on Harry's shoulder as they both listened to the crackling noises of the word burning. After a while, Harry snapped his fingers and a cup of hot chocolate for each of them floated out the kitchen and to the little table next to them.

"That's nice" Mildred murmured sleepily. "I have had such a great day today…" she yawned and then slumped her head to the side as the tiredness overcame her at last. Harry was moments behind her as they slept by the warmth of the fireplace. It was half past midnight when Harry was awakened by Mildred shifting position. He was about to lay her down on the floor when he noticed her dressing gown had come loose. Although it was still down up mostly, Harry now knew that Mildred had either simply not bothered to put on pyjamas or a nightdress, or had misinterpreted what he had said about just putting on a dressing gown. He now had a good view of her long, smooth legs, but the bottom of the gown had bunched up around the upper thigh to prevent further viewing.

"Damn" Harry whispered. He now faced a difficult choice in what to do about the situation. Harry could either leave it alone, sort it himself or wake Mildred up and let her sort it out. "Millie…" he whispered as he gently shook her by the shoulders. "Millie… wake up…" and after a full minute, Mildred stretched and yawned as she awoke.

"Whurs zup?" she asked sleepily, and rubbed her eyes.

"Well first of all, Merry Christmas" Harry said, "And secondly, your dressing gown is showing you off" and Mildred's eyes snapped open at the news and she quickly reached down to sort herself out. "I didn't want to sort it myself in case you woke up and got the wrong idea" Harry said.

"Merry Christmas" Mildred replied, and leant over and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "But if you got to see what I was or rather _wasn't_ wearing, it's only fair I get to see what you're wearing right now" she said, and Harry went a deep crimson before Mildred giggled softly. "I was only joking" she said, and kissed him once more on the cheek before heading to her bedroom for some proper sleep. As he watched her disappear up the long, wooden stairs, he thought how much of an innocent person Mildred was at times. After finishing off the hot chocolate kept in the kitchen, Harry apperated to his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

#

"Merry Christmas everybody…!" Harry called as he loudly apperated into the kitchen with an enormous BANG. "HO HO HO!" and the girls fell about laughing. "What?" Harry asked.

"You forgot to put your clothes on" said Jadu, and she pointed to his boxers.

"Nice Snitch" Maud said with a straight face as Harry apperated back to his room.

"Take two" Harry said as he walked down five minutes later.

"I rather liked the view" said Hermione with a giggle. They set about having a Christmas breakfast and then moved into the sitting room so they could open the presents they had brought each other. They took a few floo calls from people that had the address of the house – not that many – and then settled down to a Christmas Lunch. They listened to the Queen's Christmas Message before having the Christmas Dinner which comprised of Roast Beef, Roast Chicken, Roast Turkey, Roast Lamb, Roast Pork, Honey Roasted Ham, Roast Goose, Pigs in Blankets, Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Puddings, Peas, Carrots, Sweetcorn, Sprouts, Cauliflower, Parsnips, Leeks and all manner of other things graced the table. On the condiments side of things, there was Gravy, Mint Sauce, Apple Sauce, Cranberry Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, English Mustard and more. Harry had done a small deal with Griphook and the Goblin had purchased him several bottles of the finest French champagne to drink during the dinner, alone with several Bottles of red, rose and white.

"That wasn't dinner, that was a banquet" said Ruby as she floated herself over to the sofa. She was too full to move herself from the table. They settled down to watch a number of Christmas films that was playing on the TV set in the sitting room.

"If Cackles could manage that every dinner" Mildred said with her eyes closed, "I'd never leave" and Harry chuckled.

"It was a great dinner wasn't it" and they all agreed with that. They sat in various states of intoxication with coloured hats decorating their heads at often wild angles. Enid and Ruby teamed up to draw funny things on Hermione's face which she didn't find out about until early the next morning.

"Harry…?" Jadu's quiet voice drifted over the sounds of Scrooge: The Musical.

"Mmm?"

"Thanks" and the girl promptly dropped off to sleep in her armchair. Harry managed to raise himself using his elbows, and saw that only Enid, Maud and Mildred remained awake. Unfortunately, they had all dropped off to sleep by the film's end, and the TV turned itself off after an hour of another movie. Harry's dreams that night were filled with all of that day's events from getting up, coming down in nothing but his boxer shorts, to all of the games and badly off key singing they had all done. Never had Harry had so much fun at Christmas before, and it was one he would remember for ages to come.

#

"Unghhhhhhh" groaned Ruby. "Somebody stop the planet – I want to get off!" and somebody pressed a potion to her lips which she drank from.

"What did I do…?" asked a sick sounding Mildred. They all woke up that Boxing Day where they had fallen asleep, and their clothing was rumpled and askew from the previous day's activities. A retching sound told Harry that Hermione was awake, and he slowly crawled to the kitchen. He managed to make a cup of black coffee with no sugar which allowed him to at least accept the fact it was daylight, it was morning and he birds were singing through 700ft speakers. Harry attempted and succeeded in getting himself to his bedroom where he had a long shower before dressing and coming downstairs to inspect what was left over from the food. He covered it all up and protected it with a few simple charms, and then sat back to watch the rest of his friends get over the massive amounts of food they had eaten the previous day.

"Next Christmas" Mildred said, "Let's have a salad and pumpkin juice" and Harry laughed and agreed to that. Secretly inside his mind, though, he was not expecting to see next Christmas. He didn't want to spoil the happy mood of the holiday though, so he kept the thought to himself. They spent the whole of Boxing Day just lazing around and picking at the left over food, eating sweets from their stockings and watching more Christmas films. It was agreed that Santa Claus: The Movie was the firm favourite of everybody, and they all cheered when Joe and Patch were saved by Santa and Cornie.

# # # # #

"And here we all are" Harry said, and they got off the brooms in the courtyard at Cackles. It was the day before lessons started for the new term, and all of the students were arriving in dribs and drabs. The area was filled with the happy and chattering voices of the witches catching up with the latest news, and filling each other in with what had happened to them over the holidays and what they had all got as presents. New Years had been spent watching the celebrations by Embankment, watched the fireworks and had taken some port to toast the new year in. The day after that, they spent packing things up in order to get back to school, and Ruby visited Gringotts so she could take out some money. She had returned with money for everyone, and Harry could only wonder about who had authorised it.

"Miss Cherrytree, I am glad to see you happy" Miss Cackle said, coming up to the group and welcoming them all back.

"Thank you, Miss Cackle" said Ruby.

"I trust that you managed to enjoy yourself despite what happened" she added quietly so others didn't hear.

"Oh, I certainly did" Ruby said with a smile. Most people started to move inside and to their rooms, and Hermione watched as her friends split into the right places before heading into her own place. She had caught an odd look on Harry as he went into his room, but thought that perhaps it was because he wanted the good times to last longer. After what had happened over the years to him, Hermione was sure that he deserved a long and happy life. As she put a few photos on her bedside table and put clothes away in drawers, she got the impression that some secrets were going to have be revealed to the school as a whole. Hermione also knew that what was coming was going to be terrible in terms of lives. She hoped with her being that Harry survived

**A/N:**

**Alright, alight… can I not have a rest please? Thanks to all of you who** **wished me well, and I'm writing once more. Thankfully, it looks as if my operation was a success but we'll have to wait and see about that.**

**On to fanfiction…**

**Special Mention goes to diimortal who suggested part of this chapter. We spent a couple of hours on skype talking when he requested something, so I added it at his request. For those with it, add HMS Indefatigable to your list of skype contacts, and I'll add you too! Thanks must also go to XRaiderV1 for putting up with my talking about female Jedi's breasts. I blame the tablets I'm on, but we did find a rather nice picture of Aayla Secura sleeping in the nude, but that is another story completely… (if anyone wants that picture by the way, by all means look up the term Breast in wookiepedia)**

**Ahem Ahem..**

**My next update should be for Children In Charge 2, but please don't hold me to that! My current plan is to have CIC2 out on either Thursday or Friday, Special Union out on Saturday and Counter Attack out on Monday. This will last for this week only, and then we'll revert to a normal two-per-week rota.**

**If anybody can spot the joke somewhere in this chapter referring to my own 'Harry Potter True Friends' then they can have a cameo in the next Special Union chapter. To qualify, you must tell me what chapter it is, and why Harry was using this object. I fully suspect the long term reviewers will now be bidding to get that all important cameo…!**

**Once again, I want to thank everyone who wished me well after the operation. Reading those messages did help a great deal!**

**With The Warmest Regards,**

**Pixel**

**Still The Number One Fanfiction Writer **


	7. Revealing Secrets

**Revealing Secrets**

Ethel was getting very annoyed that she was no longer the top of the class. Ever since Harry and Hermione had arrived at Cackles, she had been 'demoted' to third place on occasions, and this got the girl jealous a lot. Of course she was still a perfect pupil in the eyes of Miss Hardbroom. At the moment, she was writing a letter to an old family friend about what Harry and Hermione had been up to, and trying to get rid of the headache she suddenly got. She had been having them since Halloween, but nothing she thought of was an indicator of the cause. The only thing she could think of was that she had nerves – this being the final year at Cackles. After she had put it in the post box, she returned to her room and began to study for a potions test in the morning. This would count towards the final grade for the year, and also towards the grade she would graduate with. Ethel had no doubt that she would get the top marks, and if she didn't then her Father would fiddle the results so she did. Mr Hallow would do anything to ensure his little girl got what she wanted.

# # # # #

The Order was going nuts with anger and worry. They had to get control of Harry by the end of the period agreed upon, and dive into the Potter vaults before his death. Dumbledore was trying to convince the Goblins that he had permission from Harry himself to get into the vaults. None of them thought it likely that Harry would miss a few million here and there, and Dumbledore had another appointment with the senior managers of Gringotts that afternoon. It was all for the greater good, and most of the Weasleys agreed that Harry owed them something after putting their children's lives in danger.

"I bet Harry is knocking up half those girls" said Ron.

"I do not doubt it" replied his sister. "And who knows what he is doing with Hermione…" Ginny added.

"That bastard better not have touched my Hermione! I'm supposed to have her as a sex slave" he spat.

"And I was supposed to rape Harry before we hand him over to the Death Eaters and Voldemort to enjoy" Ginny replied.

"Just as long as we get Potter's money" Ron said as he filled his face with food. "After the danger he put us in, we deserve everything he owns!" he added.

"Don't worry" Ginny said, piling her plate with bacon, "I'm sure we're get more then what we deserve" and the other members of the Order nodded.

# # # # #

It was still dark when Harry awoke the following morning, and he yawned, stretched and grabbed his glasses before getting out of bed. He flicked his wand to turn on the bedside lamp, grabbed his things and went to get a shower. A simple _Lumos_ gave enough light for Harry to walk along the corridor to the showers. Once he was certain that nobody was in them, he went into the room and into one of the stalls. The water was cold until he heated it with a simple spell, and he enjoyed a nice long shower. As he stood under the spray, he thought about what was to come. With him changing schools to Cackles, the location of the final encounter would change. Harry was certain that he would not survive the fight, but knew he had to take out Voldemort – he just wished he knew how. Ever since he had heard the prophecy, he knew that Voldemort would be after him. He hoped he could defeat Voldemort without innocent lives lost, but in his heart of hearts knew it was not possible.

"I really hate that bastard…" he muttered as he stepped out and dried himself. As he was bending over to dry off his legs, the door to the showers opened and someone walked in. Harry heard the door close, turned and faced Drusilla whilst completely naked and dripping in a few places.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Drusilla screamed loudly, turned and ran out of the showers like a flash.

"And a very good morning to you too" Harry shook his head, used his wand to finish drying and dress before apperating back to his room.

# # # # #

"What is up with Drusilla?" asked Ruby.

"I don't know" replied Jadu. "She seems afraid of Harry for some reason" but Harry simply said he didn't know why this was – deciding to not tell the entire truth this time around. Miss Hardbroom entered the dining room and was nearly jumped upon by Drusilla. The girl talked to her teacher for a few hurried seconds before Hardbroom looked directly at Harry with a piercing glare.

"I would like a word with you Mr Potter after you have finished your breakfast" she called out.

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom" Harry replied, and then tried to look as if this did not bother him.

"So what happened…?" asked Hermione, slipping into one of the places on their table.

"I'll tell you later" Harry said, and he finished his breakfast before heading off to Miss Hardbroom's office.

# # # # #

It turned out that this meeting was in Miss Cackle's office, and Harry sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Well, Harry, something of importance has been brought to my attention by Miss Hardbroom" Cackle began. "According to Drusilla Paddock, you erm… um… that is to say, you errr… displayed your entire body" Miss Cackle went ever so slightly red as she finished.

"I must say that you have disappointed me greatly" Hardbroom added, standing by the window. "I had thought you to be a hardworking student, and had fit in to the school along with your friend, Miss Granger. Given that you both came from a different school, we allowed a few of your more odd 'fancies' such as flying your broom outside of normal broom flying time. But I am afraid that there is no excuse for what happened" she finished.

"I am afraid that I have no choice but to suspend you for a week" Miss Cackle said. Harry closed his eyes, counted to five and then opened them again.

"May I explain what happened please?" he asked.

"I would like to hear your side of the story" Miss Cackle said.

"Because I'm a boy, I thought it best that I have a shower before the girls wake up – to save any embarrassment. This morning though, Drusilla came in just as I was drying myself off. The only reason I turned to face her was because I heard the door slam shut. I didn't know what to do about it, so I left it alone" Harry went on to talk a little more.

"It seems that we owe you an apology, Mr Potter" Miss Cackle said. "I am most sorry that we jumped to the wrong conclusion so quickly" but Harry simply smiled.

"It was bound to happen one day" he told them. "I'll simply lock the door next time"

# # # # #

Ethel and Drusilla had been spreading rumours round the school that Harry had exposed himself to Drusilla on purpose, and Mildred and Enid had to be held back by the others so they wouldn't deck them. Potions came that afternoon and Ethel and Drusilla were determined to cause trouble for Mildred and her friends. They waited for their best opportunity before striking. The Skin Healing Potion was supposed to contain, amongst other things, four wings from a bat. When Mildred and Maud had their backs turned, Drusilla handed Ethel the small bottle she had hidden and Ethel put a few drops in the other girls' cauldron before quickly hiding it in her bag.

"Oh crap…" Harry and Hermione, going on the 'Neville Longbottom principle' that a shaking cauldron is almost never a good thing, dived under their work bench and avoided the explosion. Miss Hardbroom saw the poisonous cloud of fumes coming from the shattered cauldron, and quickly realised that she could get rid of it for some time.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" she shouted. The entire class left in a hurry, but nobody noticed that Ethel tripped over her own bag and fell to the floor. Whilst this was not normally anything to worry about, the girl smacked her head into the corner of her workbench – altering her fall and causing her to head the stone floor head first and knock herself out. Miss Hardbroom dismissed the class for the rest of the lesson, and then asked a couple of the girls to take Drusilla to the little hospital wing they had because she had fainted – she had caught a single whiff of the gas. Once everybody had gone, Miss Hardbroom locked the door magically so that nobody could get in accidentally.

# # # # #

"Has anybody seen Ethel?" asked Enid. "She hasn't been seen by Drusilla's bed or round the entire school for that matter" but nobody knew where she was.

"I haven't seen her since Potions" Maud said, looking up from her book. Hermione was about to mention something when she saw Harry go a pale white and race out of the library. He rushed down the corridors, passing Miss Drill and ignoring her calls for him to stop running, and ended up nearly hitting Miss Hardbroom by the staff room.

"I assume that something is very wrong, Harry Potter" she said. "Otherwise you would not be running down the corridor and breaking a number of school rules" the stern woman added.

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom" Harry panted. "I think that Ethel Hallow is still in the potions classroom" he said. Hardbroom was about to dismiss this, but then she realised that she might have made a deadly mistake in the head count after the students had got out.

"You may be right" she said as the others came running up. "We had better get down there at once, or it may be too late for Miss Hallow" and the group rushed down to the potions classroom they had been using. Miss Hardbroom tried as hard as she could to open the door, but her own spell refused to budge, and an attempt to smash the windows by Jadu and Mildred proved to be useless. Even a sustained bombardment from Harry's and Hermione's wands proved inadequate, though they could see Ethel's unmoving form on the floor – skin a sick grey colour.

"I don't like the look of Ethel" said Jadu.

"Neither do I, Miss Wali" Miss Cackle said. The gas swirled over Ethel's unmoving form and covered her up.

"There is nothing we can do" said Miss Hardbroom. "The lock will not release until the time I put on it, and by the time it does, the potion gas will have been inhaled by Ethel to a fatal level" she looked a little lost. "I should have done a head count more properly. Miss Cackle, you have my resignation by the end of the day" but Harry shoved off from the wall he was leaning on.

"Well I best go get Ethel then, hadn't I?" he said, and with a pop he vanished from sight.

"He's inside the classroom" shouted Enid, and everyone saw Harry moving in the murky depths of the gas.

# # # # #

"Well ain't this a fine thing?" Harry coughed. He couldn't see past his glasses, and the desks made dark shadows in front of him. Going by memory, he bumped and banged his way to the front of the class room – all the time taking in great lung fulls of potion gas. He tripped up over Ethel's body and felt his nose break as he slammed head first into the floor. Ignoring the excruciating pain, Harry dragged Ethel to a sitting position. "You stupid idiot" he muttered, and then he apperated the pair of them away.

# # # # #

Harry had managed to stay awake long enough to turn Ethel over to Miss Cackle before he passed out from the fumes. It turned out that being unconscious had extended the time Ethel could have been in the gas because she was taking very little oxygen, and by the same measure the gas, inside her. She would still have to spend the rest of the week getting bed rest taking the potions Miss Hardbroom was brewing for her, but she would make a full recovery. Harry needed just a few hours sleep and a good meal inside him. At one point though, all his vital signs had gone and flat-lined causing panic amongst the staff and pupils. Everyone was surprised to see Hermione quietly reading the newspaper, and even more so when news came back that Harry was alive.

"_Sounds about right" she commented. "That's my Harry…" the girl chuckled._

"_He has done this before…?" asked a stunned Miss Hardbroom._

"_The whole coming back from the dead thing? That's a new one, but...let's just say it's not out of character" Hermione said, folded her paper and went down to see Harry in his room._

_"I get the feeling those two are more powerful then we thought" Miss Cackle said, shaking her head before looking at Miss Cackle._ "How is Ethel Hallow?" asked Miss Cackle.

"Getting better" came the reply. "I thought it best to wait another day or two before asking Miss Hallow a number of questions. I will of course be asking the rest of the class that in good time" Hardbroom added.

"Let me know the minute that you have something" Miss Cackle said. "I wish to speak to Mr Potter myself to thank him for doing what he did" but her deputy thought otherwise.

"Perhaps a school assembly would be more in order" she suggested. "That way we can quash the rumours before they start" the woman added, and her lips turned upwards in a smile.

"Quite right, Miss Hardbroom" Miss Cackle said. "I will let Miss Drill and Miss Bat know about it, and we can have it this afternoon if Mr Potter feels up to it" and she went off in search of both teachers.

# # # # #

"MISS HARDBROOM!" Drusilla yelled out. The girl had been pronounced as being fit, but had refused to leave her friend's bedside. Miss Hardbroom had allowed it as it gave her more time to brew potions for Ethel's use.

"What is it, Drusilla, that has dis…" the teacher saw that Ethel had awoken and had sat up in the hospital bed. "Ah, Ethel Hallow" Miss Hardbroom stared down at the girl. "You are awake at last I see, though I was beginning to wonder if this was an attempt at getting out of doing certain vital exams" but the girl denied it.

"No, Miss Hardbroom" Ethel said quickly. "Can you tell me what happened?" she asked.

"Of course" replied the teacher, but turned and asked Drusilla to step outside. "Now then, Miss Hallow, I believe we should talk…"

# # # # #

"…got a chance to escape on my broom" Harry said to his friends. Mildred was about to speak, but was stopped by Miss Cackle's shouting from downstairs.

"YOU SILLY LITTLE GIRL!" she shouted. "DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU DID? MILLDRED HUBBLE MADE YOU DO IT, DID SHE? HAVE YOU TAKEN LEAVE OF YOUR SENSES, CHILD?" a small group had gathered at the end of the short corridor leading to the little used Hospital Room. Everyone was shocked, and Mildred said that it was extremely rare that Miss Cackle raised her voice to anyone, let alone Ethel Hallow.

"Ethel must have done the thing in Potions" said Ruby.

"Pity we couldn't see into her mind" added Jadu. Harry and Hermione exchanged knowing glances at each and nodded. Meanwhile, the shouting continued at the same level.

"FIRST OF ALL YOU INTERFERE WITH SOMEBODY ELSE'S POTION, AND THEN YOU NEARLY GET YOURSELF KILLED BY YOUR OWN MEDDLING! I THOUGHT HIGHLY OF YOU, ETHEL, AND I WONDER HOW MUCH OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT YOU IS THE TRUTH. THE ONLY GOOD THING IS THAT YOU ARE ALIVE, THOUGH THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THE CASE!"

#

"Perhaps a long suspension is in order" Miss Hardbroom had taken two steps away from the Headmistress in a slight fear for her safety.

"You might be right" said Miss Cackle, voice returning to normal. She looked back at Ethel who had pulled up the bed covers to under her chin. "If it had not been for Harry, you might very well of been dead. He risked his life to save you, and at one point we lost him. I am very disappointed in you, Miss Hallow. Once you are well enough to leave here, you are to remain in your room except for the normal until I say otherwise. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" Miss Cackle's voice thundered through the room and out the door.

"Yes, Miss Cackle" Ethel had been treated to a rare show of who truly ran Cackle's Academy, and it sure wasn't Miss Constance Hardbroom.

# # # # #

The entire school had assembled in the hall, and the entire teaching staff sat on the stage. The girls – minus Ethel – sat and talked quietly to each other while they waited.

"Is Harry going to turn up?" asked Mildred. They all knew of Harry's found dislike for things like this.

"Has to" replied Hermione, and at that point the doors opened and in walked Harry.

"Mr Potter, please step forward" Miss Cackle said, and in the moment, with everyone making him nervous, he apperated to the stage.

"Bugger…" he muttered, then looked over to the watching Miss Hardbroom. "Guess it ain't a professional secret to just you" Harry smiled.

"As some of you may have heard, Harry Potter risked his own life to save that of Ethel Hallow after she knocked herself out after meddling with a potion. After an attempt by Miss Hardbroom and several other students to get Ethel out of the room, Harry transported himself into the classroom, recovered Ethel and came back out again. Ethel is recovering nicely, but she has been suspended pending a full investigation. As for Harry, well he died from the potion fumes he inhaled, but then… he got better. I would like to thank him for being unselfish in his actions, and putting his life on the line in order to save the person who caused the incident. I am declaring the rest of today free of all lessons" Miss Cackle ended her little speech to applause.

# # # # #

"Its all Hubble Bubble's fault" Ethel said to Drusilla that evening. "If she hadn't made friends with Potter and Granger, then I would still be top of the class"

"Of course" said Drusilla soothingly.

"I have to contact my father and tell him what happened. I didn't want to kill Hubble Bubble or Moonshine at all… just hurt them" Ethel picked up a letter and handed it to her friend. "Post this for me" she said.

"Your father?"

"Yes" replied Ethel. "He can overrule Miss Cackle if he has to" she added. "Just get it posted now, because HB will want to know its contents" the girl added.

"Indeed I would, Ethel Hallow" Miss Hardbroom appeared in a puff of green smoke and a flash of light.

# # # # #

Miss Cackle closed the book, and put it on her desk in front of her. If she had read the relevant passage correctly, then she needed to talk to Harry when he felt better. He had complained of feeling a great weight, and he had gone down to the woods for some peace and quiet. She had been reluctant to let him go, but she declared the rest of the day off for everyone. That, and the fact that Hermione said Harry often sat by the Whomping Willow back at Hogwarts when he needed some peace. She had told him where the lake was, and he had left on his broom at a leisurely rate.

"You wanted to see me, Amelia?" Hardbroom came into the office without knocking.

"Yes, Constance" replied Cackle, pouring her deputy and friend a cup of Earl Grey. "We have a problem with Ethel Hallow" she began.

**A/N:**

**Ah, fanfiction… a magic beyond what most can do *Author wonders if that would make a good line in a book…***

**Well then, let us see what happened shall we? The Order are still plotting, Ginny and Ron plan to rape and steal from Harry and Hermione, Drusilla spreads a lie based on an accident, Ethel sabotages a potion made by Mildred and Maud and nearly dies – Harry does die but is better later on.**

**The name of the title comes from Hardbroom's reply to Mildred asking if she was always there. '**_**It's a professional secret**_**'. Presumably, Mildred told Harry what Hardbroom had told her.**

**Can anyone guess what was NOT said in this chapter, but was sort of shared between two characters?**

**For the first time in ages, we have a TV reference. There is a section somewhere in here from the pilot episode of Andromeda.**

**Now before you bite my head off, I have always thought that Miss Cackle was an extremely powerful witch, she just preferred to have HB do the scary stuff. Her shouting comes from the 80's movie where she thunders at her sister after the Halloween incident.**

**Next chapter we'll find out what's in the hatch, and who gets off the island… Crap wrong story…**

**Anyway, there is more great stuff coming so keep an eye out for updates**

**Regards**

**Pixel**


	8. A Prelude To War

**A Prelude To War**

Ethel was released to her bedroom, but she was to remain there except for using the toilet or the showers. All of her meals were brought up to her by one of the teachers, and she was not to see anybody except the staff of the school. She was allowed to receive her post, but it was brought to her like the work she had to do. Nobody spoke to Drusilla as the year had sent her to Coventry for what she had done with Ethel. It was a fortnight before Miss Hardbroom was satisfied in her investigation, and Ethel was punished by not being allowed to go to the gathering the Wizards were planning, and she had detention for the rest of the term – another 2 months.

"Harry?" Enid nudged Harry in the ribs gently. "HB'll kill you if you're not paying attention" she said, and Harry returned from his thoughts and to the potion work they were doing. The aim was to read and then do an essay on Concealment Potions.

"Sorry, Enid" said Harry. "I was just thinking of something2 he added.

"Miss Hardbroom..." Drusilla called out.

"Yes, Drusilla?" Miss Hardbroom turned to face the girl.

"Harry Potter and Enid Nightshade are distracting me" Drusilla was making up for the loss of Ethel.

"And what, may I ask, were they doing that was distracting you from reading your potions book?" asked the deputy headmistress.

"They keep talking loudly about the post" came the smug reply.

"Whilst talking about non lesson or school related matters is normally grounds for a warning, Mr Potter received a letter this morning which has upset him. And need I remind you, Drusilla Paddock, that you are nearly in as much trouble as Ethel Hallow. Now if I was you, for which I am glad, I would be quiet and get on with your work" and Hardbroom continued to write on the chalk board.

"Score one for HB" Mildred muttered under her breath. Nobody could see the smile that graced their form mistress's face.

# # # # #

That weekend, Harry packed a bag with a few things and walked out his room, and down the corridors to the entrance to the castle.

"Do you have everything, Harry?" asked Miss Cackle as she met him by the doors.

"Yes thank you, Miss Cackle" he replied. "I should be back by late Sunday evening at the latest" Harry added. He had got a letter from Gringotts asking for his attendance at the bank on Saturday at 11am sharp for important business regarding his finances. The letter had not said what it was that was so important, only that he had to be there as he was the only one able to do something.

"Are you sure that you don't want Hermione or any of the others to be with you?" Miss Cackle asked.

"I'm sure" came the reply. "Goblins might never let them in in the first place. I'll tell everyone about it when I get back" and Miss Cackle nodded and handed Harry a small list of things that the school needed. All of it had been ordered and paid for, Harry was in the area so he could collect it and bring it back with him on Sunday. Harry put it in his shirt pocket, tapped the book and vanished from Cackle's. He appeared in the living room at Grimmauld Place, and Dobby snapped in front of him nearly at once.

"Master Harry Potter Sir" the elf said happily. "You are back!" and Harry couldn't help but smile at the elf.

"For a little while, Dobby" Harry told him. "I want you to put my stuff upstairs in my room and then get me a bit of dinner" and the elf beamed at being given an order by Harry and set about making him something to eat.

# # # # #

"Harry Potter Sir?" Dobby's voice shook Harry from his tiredness. He had fallen asleep in the library after going through his bank statements for the last few years. He wanted to be genned up on nearly anything the Goblins might ask him.

"Yeah, Dobby?" Harry yawned and stretched.

"Dobby was thinking that Master be's getting some sleeps" the elf said. Harry was going to say no to that idea, but he felt so tired for some reason that he decided to get to bed.

# # # # #

"He's back" said Mildred. Harry was walking back into the castle that Sunday evening with several ledgers and folders under his arm.

"Good trip?" asked Hermione as she walked along side him.

"Not really" Harry replied. "Lets talk in my room" and the friends walked up to Harry's room where he cast a privacy charm on the open doorway – the rule from Hardbroom still in effect. "I met with the Goblins and it seems as if I have been held back from my inheritance by somebody"

"Who?" asked Enid.

"Albus Dumbledore. According to the Goblins, he was blocking all of my Gringotts mail, making trips twice a week to my vaults and taking large amounts to put into the Hogwarts accounts, his own and several others" Harry said, opening and enlarging the relevant ledger for all to see.

"Who else got your money, Harry?" Ruby asked.

"According to Griphook, the Dursleys received two hundred thousand pounds every year until I started at Hogwarts – then they went up to four hundred thousand since then. They even continued after my change of living arrangements" Harry said.

"What did you do?" Jadu wondered.

"The Goblins froze the accounts in Dumbledore's name, plus took the money back from him, the Dursleys and the Weasley family. It seems that they all took a pay off except for Fred and George. From what I was told, they took the payments and then made payments of exactly the same amounts back into my account" Harry said.

"What about the school?" asked Hermione.

"I told the Goblins to leave the money as it is" Harry replied, "But no more payments to be made unless I give the say so" and Harry switched ledgers. "The other important matter was that Dumbledore and the Order were blocking the Goblins in letting me know of my inheritance. I knew my parents were well off, but they had loads of money, properties and investments that I never knew of" and Harry tapped the second enlarged ledger which flicked pages every four minutes.

"That is a lot of money" said Mildred.

"If you was to convert this into mug… normal money" Harry nearly said muggle out of habit, "Then I am the richest person in the country, and quite likely the world" he finished.

"What can you do with all of that money?" asked Jadu, and the other girls couldn't get their heads around Harry being so rich – well not at first.

"Well you know it is Miss Cackle's birthday soon?" Harry said, and they nodded, "Well I thought she might like control of her school back from Ethel's dad" he said with a straight face.

"TOTALLY EXTREME!" they all said at once.

"I had the Goblins start buying up all of Mr Hallow's shares of Cackle's through several of the companies" Harry explained his plan. "If Draco Malfoy is anything to go by, then Ethel likes her money and to get what she wants. I plan to buy the entire stock up, and then hand them over to Miss Cackle as a great birthday present to her" and Mildred was the first to remark that she couldn't wait to see Ethel's face when she realised her father no longer could override Miss Cackle or Miss Hardbroom.

#

Miss Hardbroom was doing her rounds when she saw the door to Harry's room open. She went to tell him it was 'Lights Out', but was gently repulsed by the privacy wards. She could plainly see Harry and his friends sitting on his bed – fully clothed – making up some kind of plan about Miss Cackle's birthday. Now while this may have given her cause for concern if this had been Fennela or Griselda, she might have been in a slight panic, but all they were doing was talking about buying shares in something. At least that was what her lip reading was telling her. Perhaps they were going to buy shares in a Cheesecake factory for her birthday.

#

They had PE in the afternoon before the end of the day, but Miss Drill was running a little bit late. To keep himself amused while others were talking, Harry conjured up a football and started kicking it against the wall and dribbling it around the courtyard. When Miss Drill finally arrived to start the lesson, she found Harry and Mildred taking turns in playing goalkeeper.

"You two come here please" she said. Harry scooped up the ball and walked over to the PE teacher. "May I ask what you were doing?" she quizzed them.

"I was a little bored waiting for the lesson to start, so I conjured up a ball and started kicking and dribbling it to pass the time" Harry said.

"I saw Harry with it" Mildred put in, "And we ended up having a little game of sorts. I rather miss playing the game" she added as an afterthought.

"You play football?" Miss Drill was very surprised.

"Used to be on my primary school's team, Miss" Mildred brightened up as she realised she was not going to be punished. "And I play it during the summer and good weather" she added. Miss Drill could not believe her senses – had she found something that the Worst Witch in the school could do for PE? She asked the other girls if any of them played the game, and one or two admitted to kicking the odd ball with their football mad brothers while at home during the holidays.

"Do I take it that you would rather be playing football then netball or basketball?" Miss Drill asked, and the girls and Harry nodded in agreement. "Well as we do not have enough equipment for this lesson, we'll just do some passing from one to another – and gentle taps of the foot please" Miss Drill said. As she watched the girls and Harry arrange themselves into a large circle and start passing the ball to each other, the teacher began thinking if it was possible to take the group to the local indoor playing fields at least once a week.

# # # # #

"… and that is that" Miss Cackle said.

"Great…" muttered Drill. "The one time I find _something_ that Mildred actually likes in PE, and she can't play it because of the budget will not stretch" and oddly Hardbroom spoke up in support of the plan.

"Perhaps it would be best if we did not purchase new chanting equipment" she said, sipping from her tea. Miss Bat looked horrified and began to head towards her cupboard when Hardbroom continued. "Davina, I was thinking of your lessons when I suggested it. We will have a cash deposit at the start of Easter. If we delay the purchasing until then, then Miss Drill can take the girls to this place" and Miss Bat glared at Hardbroom.

"How will that help the girls be better at chanting?" she demanded.

"Well the girls sometimes seem a little unhappy" Miss Hardbroom began choosing her words carefully. "I thought that if they did something they liked, then they would be happier, and this would reflect in the performances in your chanting lessons, Davina" and both Miss Cackle and Miss Drill managed to keep calm looks on their faces.

"I thought you hated my chanting lessons, Constance" Bat said.

"I do not hate them, I merely… wish the school and pupils to run smoothly. If this makes them better at their lessons, then we must give it a go. I am sure that the girls would improve their chanting standards too" Miss Hardbroom said.

"And I would get to pick what I wanted?" Miss Bat was gently twirling her conductor's baton in her fingers.

"Of course" Miss Cackle said. "Besides, Davina, this means you have more time to write a proper list for the music department" she added. Miss Bat screamed with delight and rushed out the staff room and to her little office.

"That went well" said Miss Drill.

"Where did you learn to lie so well, Constance?" asked Miss Cackle.

"Why, being around you, of course" replied Hardbroom.

# # # # #

The Goblins had done their work quickly, quietly and efficiently. However, given the amounts and the number of people involved, it took some time for a few of them to notice. Arthur Weasley was the first to discover what had happened when one of the Minister's assistants came into his office.

"Can I help you?" asked Mr Weasley.

"I was just going over the payments made by all department heads for the upcoming ball" said the official in an official sounding voice, wearing official looking robes and sporting an official hairstyle.

"I paid mine just after Christmas" said Mr Weasley. He was deep into a report that stated several badger like creatures were roaming the streets of Wimbledon. He had just been going to get Department of Magical Creatures onboard.

"According to this" said the official, holding an official looking clipboard, "Your payment was taken back. I have been asked to tell you that you have until the end of the week to solve the issue" and he left the office in an official looking turn.

"Father" Percy stepped out of the Intra-Department Floo.

"Hello, Percy" said his father. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"I just got a letter from Gringotts saying that they had recovered all the money that Harry Potter had given to us over the years as a thank you for looking after him over the years" and he handed over the letter for him to read, only to be stopped by the arrival of his own Gringotts letter.

_Dear Arthur Weasley_

_Upon the reading of the Wills of James and Lily Potter, it has been discovered that you have illegally taken money from both the main Vaults of the Potter family, and the trust fund of Mr Harry James Potter. Accordingly, our client has instructed us to recover all monies taken by yourself, along with any and all property purchased using said monies. If you believe that these actions are in error, please contact Gringotts to arrange a meeting at our London branch._

_Griphook_

_Master Goblin_

_Potter Family Accountant_

"Arthur…?" the floo flared up and Molly Weasley's head and shoulders came through.

# # # # #

Albus Dumbledore was not having a good day. First of all he had been refused access to the Potter vaults, and then he had many members of the Order, plus those in his pay, mention that all of the money had had given them had been taken off them – along with whatever had been paid for with said money. To cap it all off, he himself had received the same letter that everyone else had got. After going over the school's finances, he came upon the best decision he could at the present moment in time. Starting from the next school year, the fees for Muggle Born and Half Blood students would go up by 25%, and the fees for Pureblood students would remain the same. Starting from the same time, there would be no more scholarships awarded to the poorer students. This was a major setback in the plans of the Order, and Albus Dumbledore in particular, but it could be overcome by ways and means after a short period of time.

# # # # #

A lot of wealthy people suddenly found themselves without a great deal of their fortunes and furniture. The group read that Tuesday's morning edition of the _Prophet_ with smug faces, all of them glad that those who had failed to protect Harry were receiving part of their rewards. It seemed as if several people wanted Harry to return the money, all based on the fact that he had placed them in a terrible danger. He decided to start buying the shares of the paper, but to keep it quiet so not many knew. The only regret was that he couldn't see the looks on the faces of the Dursleys when they found out he had taken back the money they stole off him.

Just as well Griphook had thought about that one

# # # # #

The Dursleys had quite enjoyed life without Harry, even though the payments had stopped once he had left their residence. It was a good job then that they had kept a lot of it back for a time that he might either die or leave their home. Vernon was just finishing his breakfast when the phone rang. His wife answered it, only to come back to the kitchen say it was for him.

"Vernon Dursley" he spoke.

"Dursley, Mr Henderson here" said the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Oh… what can I do for you, Sir?" asked Vernon, slipping into 'creeping mode'.

"A large amount of money has been withdrawn from the company accounts, and we are looking into the matter. Once you get to work, get up to my office at once please" and the man gave Vernon particular instructions on what to do before he got to the office.

"Something wrong, Vernon?" asked Petunia when he walked back in with a frown.

"Just that money has gone missing from the accounts, and they're calling in all department heads to deal with it" Vernon replied. He kissed wife goodbye and then got in the car and off to work. Once he arrived, he stopped by his office and gathered all the account information he had in his office before going to meet the boss.

#

"Ah, sit down, Dursley" said an older man then Vernon. "Now I have already spoken to the other Department heads, and they have told me that the passcode used to take the money out of the Grunnings account was yours. Where is the money?" Mr Henderson asked.

"I… I don't know, Sir" replied Vernon.

"You have worked here for a good number of years now, Dursley" Henderson said. "You are a trusted member of the staff, and have a chance to go on the board this year. Let us hope that somebody stole your details, and that you are completely innocent of what looks to be fraud" and he and Vernon worked on finding out what had taken place.

# # # # #

"Sir? Do you really think this is wise?" asked a man.

"Wise?" replied Griphook. "Maybe not, but it sure as hell is fun to watch. More tea, Jawripper?" he asked his assistant.

# # # # #

"So what are we going to do, Albus?" asked Mr Weasley.

"I have no idea, Arthur" he replied. "We could take Harry to court and sue him for damages – to the same amounts as what we had before. It was our right, after all, that we have the money after what he did to us" added Dumbledore, and the rest of the Order agreed with that.

"Have we had any news from our contact?" asked Tonks.

"Just the one more letter" said Moody. "And I quote: _Get stuffed_. End of quote" and the retired Master Auror smiled at that.

"Could _he_ have sent it?" asked Molly Weasley, referring to Harry.

"I doubt it" said Moody. "It was sent using the correct methods and sealing charms" and the meeting went on into the latest news concerning the Death Eaters. None of them knew that Dumbledore would betray them to Voldemort. The meeting was over several hours later, and Dumbledore held Moody and Tonks back to pass them a piece of parchment each.

"You know what to do" he told the pair.

# # # # #

"You sure they are in there?" asked Moody.

"Both the parents and the youngest are inside. The eldest is at that school of hers" Tonks replied. Nodding in satisfaction, Moody led the way out of the small wooded area and towards the large manor set out in the countryside. Tonks went around to the back of the house and together, she and Moody sent fireballs into the house and then sealed up the windows and doors so that they could not escape. They waited for the house to be well alight before apperating away.

#

A split second before the fireballs smashed through the windows, Sybil Hallow knew that something was very wrong indeed. She was at home whilst she recovered from a rather nasty spell accident that might have been infectious to the other pupils at Cackle's. She was due to return the following day, and had packed her trunk for the following day – leaving it by the pantry door for the night. She attempted to put the fires out using both magic and non magical means, but it didn't work. Somebody had sealed the doors and windows as well.

"Somebody help us!" screamed her mother from downstairs. Sybil rushed downstairs to see that the lower part of the manor was well alight. The girl quickly took stock of the situation, and knocked out both her parents and then shrunk them down to figurine size. This took most of magic to complete, but she shoved them in her trunk, closed and locked the lid before grabbing her broom.

"Come on…" she whispered to herself. The heat from the fire was immense, and she knew that she was getting heat burns on her skin, and that her clothes were starting to smoulder and had the potential to catch themselves. Gathering all of her remaining magic, Sybil managed to blast a hole in the wall were the stove was. She managed to get the trunk containing her parents, her broom and herself out before a ceiling beam snapped and plunged to the floor where she had been. She allowed the cool air to soothe some of the pain from her, but the girl knew it was exactly the right thing to do. Managing to put the trunk on the back of her broom, she mounted it like she had seen Harry always do and then take off in the general direction of Cackle's.

#

"Is it done?" asked Dumbledore as Moody appeared in the fireplace.

"We saw the place light up like bonfire night" Moody said. "Don't have a chance of surviving that" he added.

"Good" Dumbledore mused. "That will teach Ethel Hallow to betray the greatest Wizard in the country" and he smiled at the thoughts of what he might do next.

# # # # #

"Sorry, Miss Hardbroom" Harry apologised to said teacher, "But I was just looking up at the stars, and I lost track of time" and Hardbroom gave a rare, thin smile.

"I too find something calming in their majestic beauty" she said. "It is one of the few things that myself and Miss Drill agree on. However, I don't remember anything about a comet seemingly heading straight for this school…" and Harry looked round to see a glowing orange light hurtling towards the school. It skimmed over the walls and Walker's Gate, only to give up the ghost and drop ten feet and smash to the ground. Harry and Hardbroom went over to find a badly injured Sybil Hallow covered in ash, burnt clothes and burns all over her body. The broom was quite happily burning itself out, and Hardbroom put out the charred remains with a flick of her fingers.

"Sybil? Can you hear me? Its Harry… can you hear me?" he spoke gently.

"There was a fire" she coughed from deep into her smoke affected lungs.

"We better get her to the hospital wing" said Miss Hardbroom, wondering how to do it without causing her any harm. Harry could read the look on her face.

"Dobby" and the elf appeared in the courtyard.

"Dobby is needed?" he asked.

"Can you take us all to the hospital wing please?" and Dobby nodded before snapping his fingers.

"Mr Potter?" Harry turned to see Poppy Pomfrey looking at him with surprise.

"Oh for heaven's sake…" Harry muttered. "The one at _Cackle's_, Dobby" and he looked back at Pomfrey who was advancing on him with her wand out. "Toodle Pip" and they vanished, only to appear at the correct hospital wing. "I better talk to Dobby later" he remarked, and then stood back as Hardbroom set to work with healing potions and a calming draught. A number of foul smelling ointments were also used on the girl.

"Tr…" Sybil managed to get out through moans.

"Tr?" Harry was puzzled, but Sybil shook her head.

"Trun…" she groaned. Harry bent down and opened the trunk. The Hallows lay on top of Sybil's school uniforms battered, bruised and covered in burns and ash. Once they had been re-sized by Miss Hardbroom, she and Harry set about doing the first lot of treatments before the deputy head sent Harry off to first get Ethel out of her detention, and then to Miss Cackle and inform her of what had happened.

# # # # #

"Eeep" Maud squeaked as a ghostly looking stag entered Hermione's bedroom.

_Meeting in my room_ it said in Harry's voice. They went down to Harry's room were they found the rest of the group sat in armchairs. Once everyone was inside, Harry shut and locked the door, and then slapped on some privacy spells for good measure.

"What is wrong?" asked Mildred.

"Sybil nearly died flying her broom to this place" Harry said. "According to her, somebody, or some people, sealed her house up and set it alight. It sounds like a textbook Death Eater attack, but yet…"

"But yet you are not sure" provided Enid, and Harry nodded.

"I was out looking at the stars when Sybil came over with her broom well ablaze" Harry said. "We got her to the hospital wing, after going to the wrong place thanks to Dobby, and Miss Hardbroom is doing her best now to try and treat the burns. She used nearly all of her magic getting herself and her parents out. She knocked them both out with a spell, shrunk them, blasted a hole big enough to get herself, her trunk and her broom out of the house before they all died. Ethel is down there now as we speak" Harry finished.

"How do you know what happened?" asked Jadu, and to their surprise Harry seemed to squirm a little.

"This never leaves the room" he told them. "Me and Hermione have the ability to look into someone's mind and read them. It isn't something we do lightly, or all that often really, but we had to learn it well enough after what we both went through. I only used it because Sybil was in no state to answer any questions" and the others – minus Hermione who knew – agreed to keep it a secret.

"So who do you think did it?" asked Hermione. "Agatha Cackle?" but Ruby shook her head.

"She only goes after people that stand in her way" the girl said. "Unless the Hallows were trying to stop them somehow, it doesn't sound like her normal method of doing things. What about those Death Eaters?" she asked, "Could they be the ones that did it?" but Harry and Hermione simply shook their heads.

"It could have been anyone" she said.

"And there was no mark above the house" Harry said. "When they kill one or more people, they always send the dark mark up. There wasn't one that Sybil saw" he added. All this time, Maud had been quiet and thinking about everything said.

"What about people from your old school?" she asked, pushing her glasses down a little before rubbing the bridge of her nose – putting them right again in a moment.

"Crap" said Harry and Hermione together.

"I bet it was Dumbledore and his fucking Order" Hermione was fuming over this.

"Do we tell Miss Cackle and the Witches Guild?" Mildred.

"Who would then report directly to the Chief Warlock" Harry said. "We should tell Miss Cackle and the rest of the staff what we think. I don't know why they undertook this attack, but it sure as heck wasn't just for kicks" and he sighed in frustration.

"What about asking Bones?" suggested Ruby.

"No good" said Hermione. "Half the members of the Order are bloody Aurors. If they go to Azkaban, then they can't fight Voldemort whenever he appears"

"This one we have got to solve ourselves, and solve it we will" Harry injected. "Anyway, we better be getting to our own rooms – you never know what might happen with everything going on" and he removed all the spells on the doors and the girls went to their separate rooms.

#

It was nearly unheard of for a meeting to be held this late into the night, and William Weasley was understandably surprised to be pulled from a dig in Egypt and told to get back to London as soon as possible.

"Mr Weasley, please sit down" said Griphook. Apart from managing the Potter Accounts for years, he also dealt with fraud inside and outside the bank. He was behind a long desk with several senior managers beside him.

"Has something happened to the family?" asked Bill.

"Yes" said a manager bluntly, "You could say that"

"Mr Weasley, at the request of Mr Harry James Potter we looked into a number of accounts. It appears that a large number of people have taken money from Mr Potter's accounts, and that the Weasley vaults are one of such" Griphook was having so much fun that he made a note to _pay Harry_ for letting him do this.

"Those accounts are in the name of my parents" Bill said. "I had nothing to do with it" but all three Goblins could tell he was lying.

"That maybe so, but you continued to take money from him after you graduated Hogwarts" said the second manager, flicking through some folders.

"It seems that you bought your way up the ranks of our Curse Breaking team, paying for more senior people to take retirement or otherwise move departments" said Griphook.

"How much have I been accused of taking?" asked Bill, going white as he realised what was going to happen.

"You have taken the grand sum of three million galleons" replied Griphook. "Mr Potter has ordered the retrieval of all monies, and that we return everything that was purchased with it – exceptions made for purchasing dark objects and the like in order to destroy them. Mr Potter also said that your account was one of those to pay interest on what you took, but it seems that you have not got enough in your account to cover this"

"Therefore we shall take it out of your salary" said the first manager.

"At the rate of 75%" added the second.

"And during this period, you are confined to doing paperwork for the Curse Breaking department. We will allow you to return to Egypt and finish what you started, knowing as we do that too much work has started already" Griphook said.

"You may leave" said the managers together. Bill left and went straight to the Burrow in order to get some more answers.

# # # # #

Mildred couldn't sleep that night, and she knew the reason why. Getting out of bed, she went down the corridor and down towards Harry's room. His light was still on, and she knocked on the door but received no reply. She tried the door, found it was unlocked and opened it to see if Harry was alright. The doors which could be locked if so wanted, had to be able to open automatically in case of an emergency evacuation of the school – something tested once a year. Harry was still awake, dressed and was sitting on the edge of his bed, and the girl moved softly over to him.

"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked him quietly.

"Not really, Millie" he replied.

"Mind if I sit down?" she asked him.

"Take a seat" Harry said.

"Tried that once, HB gave me detention" Mildred said as she sat down next to him. Mildred knew that it was a really bad joke, but Harry gave a faint smile as if he found it exceptionally funny. "Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really" Harry said, "But I'll have to do so sooner or later" he added. Taking a few moments, he composed himself before speaking what was on his mind. "The attack on the Hallows was by Dumbledore and his precious Order of the Overcooked Chicken. I know what Dumbledore wants, and it is me under his control. No doubt he will force me to have a child with a 'pureblood light family' like I am supposed to do. Because I have defied him, he has shown his power a little in hopes of me returning to Hogwarts and pleading with him to take me back" and he turned his head to look at Mildred. "I can not do that, Millie" he said, "Because otherwise, Ron will get his hands on Mione and… use her as nothing more then a baby making machine" and a question came to Mildred's mind.

"Do you love Hermione?" she asked.

"I love her very, very much" Harry said, "But not as a girlfriend or anything like that. Until I came here, she was my only friend – apart from a misunderstanding during our Third Year back at Hogwarts. But it seems as if at times that I am attracting death to wherever I am, or to people that I know. In this case though, it was to punish Ethel for not doing what she was supposed to do" and Mildred frowned in confusion.

"I don't understand" she said after a moment.

"I took an open topped bus ride down Memory Lane" Harry said. "I didn't tell Miss Cackle or HB this, but Ethel was contacted by Dumbledore and asked to spy on us. After I saved her from her own stupidity, she told him she wasn't doing it anymore. I think he was punishing her as well as me" and Mildred's eyes widened.

"But you have to tell somebody" she said.

"And it is like what I said" Harry replied. "Cackle is obliged to report it to the Witches Guild, and in turn they report to the Wizendgamot" and Mildred could see the loop they were in.

"So what are going to do about it?" she asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder in support.

"The only option is to wait it out and see what happens. The Order isn't making any moves, but then neither are the Death Eaters. The end of the year... thats when we'll find out what is going on" Harry said.

# # # # #

Miss Hardbroom had stabilised all three injured Hallows, and decided to do her rounds before going to sleep. She saw that Mildred was not in her bed, and that the light in Harry's room was still on. She moved to that room, found the door was open and looked inside and was surprised by what she saw. Instead of the pair engaged in something that Harry had promised he wouldn't do whilst at Cackle's, Mildred was sat in her nightgown with an arm around Harry who was still fully dressed and seemingly talking to him about something she could tell was troubling him. Even though it was supposed to be lights out, Hardbroom decided to give the pair a few more minutes because it looked as if Harry really needed somebody to talk to – she knew he sometimes felt terrible because of what he knew would happen towards the end of the year when he had to face the most powerful dark wizard ever. Both she and Miss Cackle had wanted to involve the Grand Wizard, but Harry and Hermione had said no because he was friends with Dumbledore.

# # # # #

Under the circumstances, Ethel was released from her punishments for the night, and was keeping watch over the sleeping forms of her badly injured parents and sister. Miss Cackle had arranged for them to be taken to a hospital for magical people the following day where they could be properly treated. It was nothing like St Mungo's because this place incorporated the best of both magical and normal medical treatment. Only a single lamp was lit, and the flames cast huge shadows as Ethel sat at the end of her mother's bed so she could see all three of them, and respond to either one of them should something happen.

"Still awake, Ethel Hallow?" asked an ominous voice, and Ethel jumped and turned to see Harry with a wide grin on his face.

"Potter..." she spat. "Come to see a bunch of homeless and poor people?" and harry shook his head.

"Ethel, while I don't exactly like you at the moment for what you tried to do to Mildred, I will not take pleasure in the unneeded suffering of innocent people. And I believe that if you go down to Lloyds bank, you will find that you have a large amount of money in your family's account" Harry said, and Ethel looked at him oddly. "Now you will not do yourself any favours by being like this, so get in the next bed and get some bloody rest" but Ethel merely stood and looked at Harry with questions etched onto her face.

"Why are you doing this for me?" she asked him.

"I told you already, but you remind me of someone back at Hogwarts" Harry said, and motioned her to sit on the edge of the unoccupied bed. "There is a boy there by the name of Draco Malfoy, and he does what you do to Mildred and the others You tell tales to teachers, get others into trouble for your mistakes and you both are bullies. I have talked to your sister, and I believe that you are better then Draco Malfoy any day. Yes, you keep using your father to get things done your way, but that's nothing compared to Draco. His father is a Death Eater who bribes his way through all sorts of trouble. Both of them are sort of handsome, and they come from a long and honoured family. So do you, Ethel" and Harry's last remark caused her to start at the compliment. She had been expecting him to tear her a new one after what she had done to both him and Mildred in separate ways.

"How do you know…?" she asked him quietly.

"That is something you will never know" Harry smiled thinly, "But I know what you was doing for Albus Dumbledore, and I know that you stopped doing it after the potion incident" he added. "However, the reason I am doing this is because you should be better then to be used as a pawn by others. I know you are smart, so use the brains you got at birth and try to repair as many bridges as possible. There is a war coming, Ethel Hallow, and I will destroy anyone who gets in my way" and Ethel nodded and moved to the forth bed.

"Um…" she was hesitant at undressing for bed when Harry could clearly see her – even in the dark.

"Just kick your shoes off, and take your arms out from the straps" Harry advised her. Ethel nodded before doing just that and lying on the top of the made bed. He reached into his pocket and handed her a small vial to take a sip from.

"How do I know you aren't going to do anything to me while I sleep?" she asked.

"Because of this potion?" Harry admitted it was a fair question. "You don't, but I am not the boy who drugs witches so I can get inside their knickers, thongs or whatever it is you wear under those things. This is a Dreamless Sleep Potion, and once you take it you'll drop off and get a good few hours rest" and Ethel weighed her options and then took a sip from the vial before handing it back – making a face as she did so.

"That is vile" Ethel said.

"Really? Well I suppose it does the first few times, but I have had to use those so many times when I was at Hogwarts that I don't mind that much" Harry chuckled as he sat on the vacated chair. The effects of the potion was already beginning to take hold, but Ethel wanted to know one more question.

"Why do you take it often?" she asked, concentrating hard so she could hear the answer.

"Because when terrible things happen, I see the deaths of people I love and people I knew" Harry replied. "If you could take something that would stop that for a night, wouldn't you have a nip those nights? Besides, I am jealous of you, Ethel Hallow – you have a family. Now then, sleep…" and Ethel's muddled mind was happy to comply with that order.

#

Hardbroom and Cackle watched from the crack in the door at the conversation, and they were shocked and surprised that Harry would help somebody that had hurt and almost killed Harry and his friends. It showed the level of forgiveness he could show, and it was he himself that requested Ethel be released from her punishments for the time being. Both of them understood the warning that Harry had given Ethel- pick the wrong side in the battle that was to take place, and Harry would not hesitate to kill her.

**A/N:**

**Well I hope you enjoyed this extended chapter of Special Union!**

**As you can guess, things are moving upwards and onwards, and the war is happening a lot sooner then some might think.**

**There is a reference to a WW episode somewhere – see if you can find it.**

**Can not wait to read the reviews!**

**Regards,**

**Pixel And Stephanie Forever**


	9. It All Came Tumbling Down…

**It All Came Tumbling Down…**

The Hallows were moved to the hospital the next morning, and Ethel went with them for a day or two. The school had a week off due to an old custom, and the group had it all planned. They had received permission from Miss Hardbroom to use the potions lab a few hours per day to work on their potion making ability, and also to help Mildred get her potions better. Hardbroom was surprised at the request, but then she allowed them to use it, so long as she was present during the sessions.

"Miss Hardbroom, we wanted to help Mildred without you being in the same room as her" Harry said. "You know that Mildred is sometimes nervous when you are standing near her" he added. Miss Hardbroom was about to give Harry lines for his remark, but then realised he was telling the truth.

"I shall work in the store" she said after a moment's thought. "I can easily get to you should I have cause" and Harry thanked her. Most of them were setting up the equipment in the potions lab while Hermione and Mildred went down to the local village to collect some items that were not in the stores. Hardbroom had ordered them, but they would not arrive until the last day of the break.

"Whats keeping Millie and Mione?" asked Enid.

"They should have been back by now" agreed Maud.

"I bet they simply just decided o pick up a few little extras" said Ruby. Harry shrugged and started making what he had set out to. Another half an hour passed before he decided enough was enough, and he carefully stopped what he was doing and went to speak to Miss Hardbroom.

# # # # #

"Any luck?" he asked. Miss Hardbroom and Miss Drill had been searching the entire wooded area around the school for them, but could not find any sign of the pair. Fenella and Griselda offered to sweep round the area on their brooms from above, aiming to catch sight of Hermione and Mildred and in a quicker time. Miss Cackle had agreed to the plan, and both girls had swept into the air on their brooms.

"I am afraid not" said Miss Hardbroom. "We went to the village and the shopkeepers told us that they both set off towards the school over an hour and an half ago. They should have returned by now, but they have not which is disturbing" and Harry turned back from his work bench.

"Disturbing is not the word I would use, Miss…" Harry was cut off by Enid's shout.

"Fenny and Gris are back" she called, and both girls could be seen making a hard, fast landing in the courtyard. They went out to meet them, and Griselda handed Miss Cackle a piece of parchment that they had found.

"We were just making a sweep back here when we saw loads of stuff on the ground. We landed to investigate, and we found it was bags of potions ingredients, a few other things and also Hermione's wand" Fennella said. She gave Harry Hermione's wand as Miss Cackle gasped.

"Harry, this is a note from those Death Eaters" she said, handing the note to Hardbroom to read. "They have taken both Mildred and Hermione and put them under heavy charms and spells in a cave. It says where they are, but mentions you can only save one person" and Harry let rip a string of oaths that made Miss Bat blush at one point – she didn't know Harry spoke Mongolian.

"Excuse me, Miss Cackle. Miss Hardbroom. I have work to do" and Harry spun on his heel and went into the school.

"What should we do?" asked Miss Drill.

"Find the deepest, darkest hole in the ground and stay until it is safe to come out" Hardbroom said. Nobody knew if she was joking or not.

#

Harry slammed closed the door to his room, pulled out his trunk and started pulling things out. Once he had got what he wanted, Harry started stripping and then began putting on the dragonhide armour he had purchased over the Christmas holidays. As he was tugging on his trousers, the door opened and in burst the girls without a knock first.

"What are you doing?" asked Enid.

"I am going to get them" said Harry, doing the straps of the vest together.

"But what if it is a trap?" asked Maud.

"Then I'll just solve that issue when it comes to it" Harry said, and rooted through the trunk for some vials of potion he had in a special compartment which preserved them at their best.

"I know you are a powerful wizard, and I bet you could beat the Grand Wizard any day of the week" said Ruby, "But in this case you don't know how many people might be waiting for you" she finished. Harry turned to look her in the eyes.

"True, but there are only two people I care about waiting there, and I intend to get them both safely back to this castle" he said.

"He's going" said Ruby aloud.

"And I'm going with him" said Maud.

"And me" said Enid. When Ruby and Jadu also announced they wanted to go, Harry told them that there was a set of armour in their rooms, and that they should go and put it on while he set about creating a portkey for them all to use.

"Harry Potter, I would like very much for an explanation as to what you, Ruby Cherrytree, Jadu Wali, Maud Moonshine and Enid Nightshade are planning on doing" Miss Hardbroom said as she saw them gathered in his room. Harry thought about an answer, then grabbed his wand as they all took hold of the rope he had turned into a portkey.

"Hunting" and they vanished from view.

# # # # #

The coldness of the sea breeze hit them the moment they appeared at the coast.

"Where are we?" asked Ruby as they glanced around at the desolate place.

"Well it ain't Eastbourne" Maud said.

"I think we're somewhere in Cornwall" said Enid. "I used to come here when I was younger on holiday" she added. Spray hit them from the waves that came up and hit them, and some of it got into their armour and caused them to feel slightly odd when they moved.

"Split up" Harry said, "And see if we can find this cave they're in" and the group split and looked all over the area for an opening of any type in the rock face. It took a long time as they had to scramble over rocks and boulders, but Jadu eventually found it hidden in the hollow of a cliff.

"I can feel dark spell work here" said Enid, and the other girls nodded. They made their way down to the cave, but found it blocked by a magical barrier.

"Going to take four of us just to keep this open" said Harry.

"You go" said Maud quickly. "We use a barrier lowering spell and keep using it until you can get both of them out" but Harry reminded her of the note left behind.

"For two people to get out of this cave, one person has to stay behind" he shook his head, adjusted his armour and went towards the cave mouth.

"If anyone can beat the odds, its you, Harry" Ruby said.

"Power and skill has nothing to do with this, I have to play god and choose who lives and who dies" Harry said sadly. The girls started chanting a spell, and a wave of red energy washed over the front of the cave, and Harry started running inside.

"Good luck" whispered Maud.

# # # # #

"_Lumos_" Harry's wand provided enough light once it had got too dark, and he moved down the cave, deep into the cliffs. A minute or two later, he came upon the tied up forms of Hermione and Mildred. He quickly revived them, and found them both to be cold. He heated up some of the rocks so they radiated it at the two girls before he sat down between them.

"I'm glad you came for us" said Mildred as she warmed up.

"Whats wrong?" Hermione saw the pain on Harry's face.

"Its best I tell you both" Harry sighed. "I can only rescue one of you from here. The Death Eaters thought it funny that I would have to choose who lived and who died in here" and there was silence for a while until Mildred spoke up.

"Rescue Hermione" she said. "She can help you to fight Voldemort, whereas I can help by getting under your feet" and the other two looked at her in surprise.

"You know I can't do that" Harry said.

"Oh, so how do you propose all three of us get out?" asked Mildred, sounding a bit like Enid.

"I was thinking that two of us should be able to get out of here at the same time, but I don't think that is going to happen. Once the first person is out, that barrier will fall again – even with the others holding it open" Harry said.

"You help Mildred to get out, and I'll manage on my own" Hermione said, but that was not her plan at all.

"You sure?" Mildred eyed her dubiously.

"Millie, no offence but you often trip up. Harry can help you leave here, and I'll be right behind you" Hermione said, standing up in the cave and stretching her extremities. "Shall we get going?" she asked Harry.

"If Millie is up to it" he replied, and Mildred said she was.

"Will I need to use magic?" she asked him. "Only I feel a little drained of it" and Hermione replied that she too could feel her magical core dipping in power somewhat.

"Must be a magical suppressor" Harry said, and a fresh _Lumos_ was slightly dimmer then his first. "Lets get going quickly" he said. "If the cave is doing this inside, I hate to think what is going on at the enterance" and he helped Mildred to walk through the cave. He knew she had a slight fear of the dark, and so added a little more power to the _Lumos_ which returned to a normal level of illumination.

"You know, this is too…" Hermione was cut off by a number of curses sent their way from the cave walls.

"Death Eaters!" Harry yelled, and he dragged Mildred behind a large boulder. Popping his head up, Harry gained all of the tactical information he needed. Taking a very careful aim, and reducing the power behind it, he cast a _Diffindo_ and took the wand arm off from a tall red haired Death Eater. He fished around in his pocket, took out Hermione's wand and threw it at her.

"_Expelliamus_ she called, catching the wand and turning it on the nearest person. A rather nasty looking spell came right for her, and Harry deflected it just in time.

#

"That sounds like spell fire" Maud said.

"Do you think they need help?" wondered Ruby.

"I think so" said Enid, and she stopped her work and went rushing into the cave.

"Wait for me!" called Maud, and she rushed forward.

"Well?" Jadu looked at Ruby who was straining under the stress of holding the cave barrier open.

"There, but for the grace of God, go I" she replied, and she grabbed hold of Jadu's hand as she ran inside the cave – just getting inside before the barrier fell again.

#

"We need to change tactics" Harry said to Hermione.

"Agreed" his friend replied, and she cast a banishing charm on several Death Eaters who got slammed into the solid cave wall with a sickening crunch. Another Death Eater fired something green at the boulder and it just skimmed the top of Mildred's head. A deep cut appeared on it, and she was bleeding a lot. Harry knew it wasn't anything serious because head wounds bleed a lot. The fighting went on for what seemed to be a long, long time.

"The cavalry has arrived!" came a shout from the Death Eaters, and they turned round in time to be hit by spells from the rest of the group who had followed the sounds of fighting. In a matter of moments, the remaining Death Eaters had been stunned and bound.

"You alright, Millie?" asked Maud as she saw the blood dripping off her face and onto her school uniform.

"A spell caught the top of her head" Harry said. "We'll deal with it when we get back to school" and he looked around the cave.

"Anybody seen Hermione?" he asked. The rest of them glanced around until Jadu spotted her leaning around the side of a rocky shelf with her wand in her hand.

"I bet the fight made her deaf" Enid remarked, as Harry went over to let her know it was all over.

"Mione, you can get up now" he said. "The thing is all…" he stopped speaking as he saw the blue lips and her neck at an ungodly angle. "No…" Harry whispered. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the tortured plea tore through the cave – Hermione was dead. Harry just fell to his knees screaming and yelling from the heart that had been ripped to pieces by something he was unable to prevent. The loss of Harry's control caused the cave to start shaking, and large rocks dropped from the ceiling – it was about to cave in.

"We have got to go!" said Ruby as she and Jadu lifted Harry to his feet.

"No!" Harry struggled free of their grasp and brushed the hair out of Hermione's face. "Wake up, Mione" he begged, "Everything is going to be alright now…" but there was no answer.

"Harry, we have to go" Mildred said, wiping some blood from round her eyes.

"I'm not leaving Hermione behind" Harry said, and he picked up her lifeless body, pocketed her wand and started for the cave entrance.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Maud asked.

"Leave them" said Mildred bitterly. When they got to the mouth of the cave, the girls were about to open it when Harry's overloading magical core simply blasted it down with the force of a small Tactical Nuclear Missile. They took hold of the portkey and vanished from the now sealed up cave. The Death Eaters would have about a day or two of air inside, and might be able to shift some of the rocks and get out, but Harry wasn't bothered in the slightest

# # # # #

"I think it of the greatest importance that we…" Miss Cackle was stopped by the sound of a small explosion in the courtyard. She, Hardbroom and Drill looked out to see the girls and Harry, and Harry was carrying Hermione in his arms. It took a few seconds for the witch to realise that Mildred was drenched in blood, but she didn't know if it was her own or somebody else's.

"We must get Hermione medical treatment" Miss Drill said.

"I think that would be redundant in this case, Imogen" said Hardbroom softly, turning as pale as never before. Before another word could be said, she turned, walked to the staff room and asked Miss Bat if she wanted a temporary lodger for a few hours. Harry was collapsed in the courtyard with Hermione broken and slightly scared body in his arms, rocking from side to side and backwards and forwards. The word had spread around the school, and a number of pupils had gathered to see the sad spectacle.

"We'll get you to those nice hospital beds" said Harry in a quiet, tearful whisper. "And then we'll make you all better" and a number of the younger pupils were openly crying at seeing Hermione dead. She had helped them on a tricky part of their work, or helped them when they needed help.

"She's dead?" Ethel's voice made the friends turn round to see the girl looking high and mighty over the scene.

"She was kidnapped by evil wizards and witches" said Maud. "Hermione knew she was going to die, and she was killed by a spell from one of them" she added.

"Well…" Ethel looked over the heads of the first years, "At least I still have a family" and there was a very audible gasp at the audacity of the statement.

SMACK!

The sound echoed round the courtyard like a gunshot, and Ethel was sent spinning backwards by the force of Mildred's slap on the cheek.

"Ruby, Jadu. Confine Ethel Hallow to her room" Miss Cackle ordered. "Miss Drill, go with them" the headmistress added.

"Lets go" said Miss Drill, and she followed behind the two holding Ethel by the arms.

"Oh, but please try to get away…" Jadu said as they went inside the castle.

"All of you please go inside" Miss Cackle ordered. Most of the watching people took a last look before they went inside – most to talk about what might have happened to cause Hermione's death. Once they had gone, she turned to see Harry still holding Hermione's lifeless form in his arms.

"Harry?" Mildred spoke softly. "Hermione's gone… you have to let her go" but Harry shook his head.

"Shussssh! She is sleeping" he told them in a whisper. "She just needs a nice long sleep" and it was clear that Harry had lost his grip on reality.

"Harry? We have to take Hermione out of here, can you imagine what she'll say when she wakes up outside on the ground? She would much rather like a nice comfy bed" Maud was trying very hard not to burst into tears.

"Oh" Harry replied absently, "Perhaps we better had then" and he slowly let them take Hermione from him and float her away inside the castle.

"Mildred, go and have a bath and a shower" Miss Cackle said. "And be as long as you need to be. Enid, make sure Harry gets to his room safely please" and Enid nodded.

"Yes, Miss" and she gently helped Harry to his feet and led him by the hand to the bedrooms. Miss Cackle was about to leave for the staff room when she spotted something on the ground. She bent over to pick it up, and saw it was Hermione's wand which had fallen from Harry when Enid had taken him away. Miss Cackle decided to put it in the school safe until she could give it to Harry when he was in a fit state of mind.

#

The door closed leaving Harry alone in his room – Enid had taken all the sharp objects away to keep in her room. Harry's mind was running on default settings while he tried to think how Hermione had died. She must have been hit either directly or by a deflection, but he couldn't think of seeing or hearing. He looked down at his hands, still covered in Mildred's blood, and he couldn't help but blame himself for Hermione's death. Why did everybody he ever cared for get killed? Perhaps he should turn himself over to Voldemort and be done with it. His eyes settled on a glass figurine that was a Christmas present from Hermione, and turned it over in his hands and then sent it on a trajectory which smashed and shattered on the stone wall facing him. All the anger, rage and grief burst forth and he upturned his bed, started breaking the furniture, ripped the bed sheets and generally began the methodical destruction of his room. A couple of girls heard the noise from his room, found Enid in the middle of changing into her uniform and told her what was going on. She sighed with sadness at what Harry was going through, and told the pair to find Miss Cackle, tell them what was going on and to meet her in Harry's room. They found him crying like a wounded animal with his head in his hands, and sat on the floor – back to the wall – amidst the entire devastation.

"Harry, we heard…" but words from Maud failed to come out after that. Harry seemed to have frozen up completely as he rocked back and forth, sobbing out his pain and grief with his head tucked between his knees.

"Should we send for Miss Hardbroom?" asked Enid, looking at Harry sadly.

"At the moment she is lodging with Miss Bat" replied the headmistress. "I am only glad that you decided to remove all the sharp objects from this room, Enid" she added.

"I thought it would be best" the younger witch replied.

"How long will it be before Harry is able to talk to us?" wondered Maud.

"How long is a piece of string?" replied Enid, though there was no nastiness in the words. This however seemed to have affected Harry as he jumped up, looked around the debris littered room, picked up a ball of strong and then apperated away.

"I hope he isn't going to do what I think" Miss cackle said, ushering the two girls out of the room and closing the door. They were walking down the corridor when Fenella came running up and said she had seen Harry appear out of thin air and go into the hospital wing. The four of them walked quickly down there, and found Harry standing back from where Hermione had been placed earlier by Maud. Her entire body was covered in thick bandages, and Harry had made her neck go straight and head go into the proper position.

"What are you doing?" asked Miss Cackle gently.

"Fixing Hermione" Harry said, his tone one of annoyance they couldn't see this. "I bandaged her all up" he added proudly.

"She broke her neck, Harry" Enid said delicately.

"Oh, but I thought of that" Harry broke into a grin. "See? I made a splint, put in on Hermione's neck and then bandaged over. I tied her head so she could have support when her neck grows back" and the sad thing was that Harry was acting with the innocence of a child – one that believed that anything could be cured with bandages. It took a lot of gentle persuasion from Maud, Enid and a newly arrived Mildred to convince Harry that Hermione was truly dead, and not merely playing a prank on him by pretending to be asleep. "I can't believe she is gone. It can't be true" Harry whispered as Mildred took his hands gently in her own.

"We can not change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it" she said.

"Take him to one of your rooms please" Miss Cackle asked. "I will arrange for Harry's room to be sorted out in a while" and then as she turned around to head away from a place that had seen too much use lately, the headmistress had a thought. "Did Hermione have any particular faith, or other wishes regarding her remains?" she asked Harry, feeling the deceased girl's wand in her cardigan pocket.

"Not any faith" Harry shook his head in confusion. "I think she mentioned something about Vikings. There'll be something about it in her trunk" and then he was led away to a place where he could be kept under watch that night.

# # # # #

A few days after Hermione's death, a small party gathered by the lake in the forest near the school. Apart from the staff of the school, Harry was joined by the close group of friends plus Fenella and Griselda. All of them wore formal clothes for the occasion complete with pointed hat. Harry though had a pair of Hermione's red panties over his trousers which had both surprised and shocked Miss Hardbroom when she had come to collect Harry for the little service.

"_Can you tell me why you are wearing Hermione's underwear?" _she had asked.

"_Hermione said she would have to be dead before I got into her knickers"_ Harry had replied in explanation, _"So that is what I am doing – carrying out one of her final wishes"_

A little wooden boat was by the shore line, and Hermione's body was inside, sitting on a pile of flammable potions soaked wood. If Harry's friend wanted a Viking funeral, then that is what she was going to get! She was dressed in the Ball Gown she had worn during the Yule Ball at Hogwarts, and somebody had arranged her hair and make up so she would look her best. He spoke quietly to Hermione's unhearing corpse, run his hands through her hair and kissed her dead, blue lips one more time before tapping the side of the boat with his hand. It silently slipped over the shore and moved silently into the middle of the lake before stopping.

"Hats off" Miss Cackle said, and the witches took their witch hats off, and Miss Drill removed her normal hat.

"Do you want one of us to do this?" asked Miss Bat, but Harry refused. Collecting all of his thoughts, he brought his wand up and aimed at the waiting boat.

"_Incendio_" and a fire spell came out his wand, rushed over the lake and hit the boat – igniting the potion soaked wood. A fireball went high into the air above the lake, but it did recede to a massive wall of flames as Hermione's mortal remains were consumed by fire in accordance to her will. The fire flickered in reflections of the lake, all the more so because of there being no moon that night. The group watched as the boat burned down until the water put out the remains.

"Dismissed" Miss Cackle said, and led the way back towards the castle. Harry remained behind a few more moments as he watched the smoke disperse on the light wind.

"Bye, Hermione Granger… I'll see you again one day" and with that he walked back to the castle with friends all around him

**A/N:**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**

**As always, whenever I kill Hermione I start having the shakes, but rest assured that there shall be no use of the "Hermione Returns" card this time around.**

**The kidnapped idea was suggested by diimortal in a Skype chat we had – I'm HMS_Indefatigable. Add me for the heck of it… all requests will be accepted! I am on most days and nights, and diimortal, Wes Imlay and the Wilky Bar Kid will often bounce ideas off each other. Oh by the way… I am still taking questions for my little podcast. Ask questions in your reviews And it should be done by the end of the week!**

**Now for the big question: Was it Death Eaters or members of the Order acting on Dumbledore's instructions?**

**Next chapter shall be concerning Harry dealing with Hermione's loss, preparations for war and more on the magical world finding out what has happened to their money, property and lands.**

**Hoping for skype requests**

**Pixel**


	10. And So It Begins…

**And So It Begins…**

Harry was devastated by the loss of Hermione, and it was clear to everyone that he cared for her deeply. Despite others from most of the class, he chose to work on his own and was observed turning to his left and asking Hermione what she thought of the process. The sad sight of Harry beginning to lose his mind shocked even the normally stoic Miss Hardbroom. She had noticed that he had stopped taking his Firebolt out for weekend runs around the forest, and that his work was nothing short of perfect. He had stopped asking questions during lessons, and only spoke when asked directly. It was several long, painful weeks before Harry was back to a near normal state, and the whole school sighed with relief at the change.

"Harry?" a voice called from his bedroom door. Harry looked up from the picture in his hands, and saw Mildred and the others looking at him.

"Oh come in" he said, and idly created several plush chairs for them to sit in. "What can I do for you?" he asked as he put the picture of himself and Hermione down on his bedside table. The picture had been taken during the snowball fight in first year at Hogwarts, and it just showed himself and Hermione with an arm around the other with smiles on the flushed, sweaty faces after the game was over. There were several other pictures of the pair dotted around his room.

"We thought you might want to go to the DOBS den for a while – get away from your room" Maud said.

"Might as well" Harry said. "I'll just nip next door and get Hermio…" he paused as the pain of her death flashed over his eyes. "Lets go" he said, and left with the others following after sharing looks.

# # # # #

"How long until the Dark Lord has enough people?" asked Dumbledore.

"By the end of the term, Headmaster" said Snape. "He wishes me to remind you of the deal you and him made, and that you must not interfere with his killing of Harry Potter" he added, and the old man's eyes twinkled.

"I shall of course send the entire Order to repulse the attack, but he will have more then enough to wipe them out" said Dumbledore. "Harry is killed, Voldemort gets to take over fully and I get to keep the school and all of my offices" he mused.

"What do you know of the protections around this school?" asked Snape.

"Hogwarts has a number of intri…" but Snape cut Dumbledore off.

"The one the brat is at now" he said.

"Oh" replied Dumbledore. "The school only has witches in it. There are no wizards, though some do visit when circumstance dictates. There are three non magical persons present, but I do not think that they are of any problem. The pupils do not use wands, so their magic will be unfocused compared to ours. There are only two minor issues – the first being Harry himself" Dumbledore paused.

"And the other?"

"The other is a woman you know of for a long time, Severus… Constance Hardbroom"

"Oh _fuck_" said the Potion Teacher.

"You see the problem" Dumbledore said. "Now Miss Cackle's sister has had some experience in storming the school, but her past associates have been of little power and use. Now she is allied with the Death Eaters, it is proberble that she can take out the teaching staff at Cackle's. I will have the Aurors sent either to another location or told to go into the same ambush spot as the Order. Just give me a moment with the boy, and then you can take him to the Dark Lord" he finished.

"I shall relay your additional request, although I can foresee no issues with this. When do you expect everything to be ready?" Snape asked.

"I should have everything ready by the end of a fortnight, but I would like to go in three instead" and Dumbledore's remark caused Snape to raise an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked. "Why not go when everything is ready?" and Dumbledore nodded in understanding.

"The school will be concerned with leaving for the holidays" he explained. "We can slip in unawares and take out Miss Hardbroom" and it was a clever plan indeed.

"Once the Aurors and the Order have been eliminated, there shall be nothing to stop us from reaching our goals of taking over the country" and Snape and Dumbledore laughed.

"_Dickhead_" thought Fawkes, and went back to sleep.

# # # # #

"What have you got planned for the holidays?" asked Maud.

"My father was planning on taking me and the family to Italy" said Enid. "While I'm there, I might try to find a shop dealing in magical books" and everyone talked about what they would do before starting college.

"What about you?" asked Ruby of Harry.

"I… I'm not really sure" he replied. He was sat on the windowsill sipping a butterbeer, and he thought about what he would like to do. "I think we know what is going to happen though. I will have to fight Voldemort and I am going to die" Harry added.

"I doubt that very much" Jadu replied. "I bet you could beat any wizard from Camelot hands down" and Harry brightened a bit.

"Well thank you for that bit of confidence, Miss Wadi" he smiled, "But we all know what is to take place. Voldemort will do it sooner rather then in a few years down the line. If I _could_ decide what to do" Harry continued, "I'd like to go to Weirdsister's with the rest of you" and Maud reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out an application.

"I thought you might want one" said the girl, and Harry placed it on his desk to fill in later. As they continued to sip butterbeer, a brief moment occurred when Harry's face turned to sadness.

"What is wrong?" asked Mildred.

"I was thinking how much Hermione would have liked to have graduated and gone to Wierdsister" he replied. Enid glanced out of the window before looking back at her friends.

"Why don't we go to the lake?" she suggested.

"That would be nice" said Mildred, and so they finished their drinks, told Miss Hardbroom what they were doing, and set off for the lake.

#

It had been a few weeks since they had last been there, but not much had changed. A few tree trunks had been scattered by a storm a few days previous, but that was all. The girls watched as Harry spoke to a large stone in the ground near the water's edge. After he had recovered from the shock of Hermione's death, Harry had elected to place a marker down by the edge of the lake so all would know what had happened. He often spoke to it, but with the preparation for the exams, Harry had forgotten all about it – as had the girls. When he was done, they sat by the water and watched everything go on around them. They were just setting off back to the castle when there was the sound of multiple pops. Harry was just pulling out his wand when screams could be heard – screams that were cut off almost straight after.

"Oh gods…" Ruby muttered.

"Stay close to me" Harry cautioned the girls, and they moved as quietly as possible as they went through the forest to the source of the screams. They hid behind a long fallen tree trunk and peered over it. Three dozen Death Eaters stood over the corpses of the freshly killed Order members.

"We shall attack the castle" said a hooked nosed man – Snape. "But we must await the Dark Lord's message" and the Death Eaters amused themselves by using the bodies as target practice.

"What are we going to do?" asked Mildred.

"This is the day I feared…" Harry said, and he gathered the girls into a giant hug and silently apperated away.

#

"… and that is how I feel, Miss Hardbroom" Miss Drill said.

"If you can not cope with the demands the school places on you, then you are free to leave" replied Miss Hardbroom, sipping from her tea. Miss Drill was about to reply when Harry and the girls appeared in a slight heap. "I assume you have a reason for this, Harry Potter?" asked the Deputy Headmistress.

"Death Eaters are…" Harry was cut off by Voldemort's voice filling the castle.

GIVE ME HARRY POTTER! I WANT YOU BOY. GIVE ME HARRY POTTER AND I SHALL LET YOU SURVIVE UNDER MY RULE! GIVE ME HARRY POTTER, OR YOU SHALL ALL DIE. YOU HAVE HALF AN HOUR TO DECIDE

"I see" said Hardbroom, and the door to the staffroom flung open and Cackle and Bat came in.

"You heard that?" asked Miss Cackle, and the others nodded. "What do you suggest we do then?" she asked.

"I could give myself up to him" Harry said.

"That is not an option" said Miss Bat, seemingly calm after what had just happened. Harry and the others relayed what they had heard and seen to the staff, and Miss Cackle looked at the clock before making a decision.

"Harry, we will assist you in your fight. Constance, Imogen. Get the pupils awake, dressed in whatever is close at hand and down to the hall. Davina, go to my office and get that box please – but don't touch the contents" Miss Cackle swung into action and started giving orders. Although it was still daytime, she knew a lot of pupils would have changed into light clothing and dozed off in the heat.

#

"SILENCE!" the pupils in the hall fell silent at Miss Hardbroom's shout.

"The school is under an attack unlike any we have received before" began Cackle. "Only Harry Potter has a hope of fighting what is about to happen. You all heard the time we have, and we are now evacuating the school of all pupils and non magical staff. Miss Bat will go with you to ensure your safety" Cackle finished. It had been decided that she should leave the school lest she run into the cupboard and not come out again.

"Amelia…?" Miss Bat was surprised.

"Davina, you are the only one who can do this. Miss Drill has no magic and therefore can not defend the girls should they need defending in the magical way" said Hardbroom. She reflected that she was getting quite good at stretching the truth.

"I shall do the best I can" Miss Bat stood tall and proud, turned and left the platform to handout the portkeys that Harry had created and stored for a use he hoped he would never need.

"You girls had better get yourself going" said Miss Cackle.

"Best you leave while you can" Harry said. "The Death Eaters are going to be swarming in here, and you'll not be able to go then" and there was a short silence as the other girls popped out via portkey.

"I'm staying" said Ruby. "I have nowhere else left to go"

"If Harry stays, then I am staying as well" said Mildred loyally, and Enid, Maud and Jadu also said they would stay – along with Drusilla. The girl knew that should Voldemort win, then she would be in line to be tortured and killed. Harry looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"How exactly are we going to defend a school with only nine persons who are magically capable?" she asked.

"We have tricks" said Ruby, and after the last person had left the hall Miss Cackle led the way to a classroom which was supposed to be deserted. Inside was a row of monitors, plans of the school and the surrounding area lined two walls and a number of other things scattered the room. Ruby turned on all the monitors which displayed views of the corridors inside the castle as well as the courtyard. A square of four provided a view of the outside of the walls.

"We have only four minutes left of our time limit" Miss Hardbroom said.

"I know" said Miss Cackle, and she placed her hand on a rune that Harry had made – based on Hermione's notes. "_Battle Stations_" and the school was covered in thick light that spread sideways and then down. A few moments later, and the shield was in place over the castle.

"Shields are up" reported Ruby.

"Now what?" asked Drusilla.

"Now we wait, Drusilla" said Miss Hardbroom.

"I would have expected a few other people" said Miss Cackle.

"This is just a small raiding party" said Harry. "Voldemort must be after more then just me" he mused, and then the cameras providing views of the forest stopped working. They all feared the worst before they came back on again.

"Only a powerful burst of magic could do that" Ruby said, running through various things to check the picture signal.

"If the Aurors investigated the sudden deaths of the Order members, then they would have gone into the same trap" Maud remarked. The remaining minute ticked down as they all waited. Dead on the stroke of the clock, spells poured out of the forest and pounded at the shield surrounding the school. Mildred broke out the walkie talkies from the cabinet, and explained to the two teachers that it was easier to inform others of what was happening rather then face to face. Drusilla was given a quick lesson in how to use them, and then the group paired up with Hardbroom and Cackle staying behind to guard Ruby should she need defending at all. The idea was to take up positions in the towers, and be ready to fire spells down into the Death Eaters when they breached the shield. As Harry was the only wand user in the school, he took up position above the courtyard so he could fire spells more rapidly.

#

"We better get moving" said Jadu. "I don't think that shield will last long, hello Ethel, and then we'll really…" the girl skidded to a stop.

"Ethel…?" Drusilla whispered. "Why haven't you left?" she asked. Ethel hesitated before replying to the question.

"I wanted to stay" she replied at last. "I was going to leave, but then I realised I owed Harry Potter a life debt twice over. Once for saving me from my own selfish mistake, and the other for getting Sybil and my parents treatment quickly using that elf of his" and Ethel hesitated which led Drusilla to believe there was another reason.

"What else?" she asked her friend.

"I wanted to stay with you" Ethel replied.

"Even though you could die?" asked Drusilla. Jadu kept looking between the two girls with impatience.

"Dru…" Ethel's voice was filled with emotion. "I nearly lost my family, and that would have been bad enough" and she looked down at her feet. "I'd rather die then live in a world without you" and Jadu's jaw dropped at the revelation that Ethel liked Drusilla as more then just a friend.

"You mean that you…" Drusilla stopped as she hugged her friend and gently kissed her on the lips.

"I was afraid that you would hate me…" whispered Ethel. "And this sort of stuff isn't allowed at Cackle's" she added – eyes darting to the waiting form of Jadu.

"I believe the rules say that relations of your kind are banned from dorms. As you are standing in a corridor, I see no problem with that" said the girl. Ethel did the unexpected and hugged Jadu – albeit briefly.

"I've got to talk to Mildred and tell her I'm sorry for everything" Ethel said, but Drusilla shook her head.

"We have work to do first. After we have beaten back the attack we'll find her" and Jadu walked in front as she and Ethel walked behind her hand in hand.

#

"Alright" muttered Ruby, "Lets have a comm check. This is Base One – all units check in" and the radio burst into life with replies.

"_Top tower ready"_

"_Dorm block ready"_

"_Workshops ready – all three of us"_ Drusilla said.

"Three?" questioned Miss Hardbroom.

"_We found Ethel in the corridor. Seems as if she didn't hear the evacuation call"_ replied Jadu.

"I see" said Miss Cackle. She suspected that she knew the true reason for Ethel remaining behind, and it was possible that Harry knew too – she wasn't certain. "I would like a word with Miss Hallow after this is over" she added. The shield continued to be pounded away at by the Death Eaters, and the thing eventually broke. All at once, fire spells came rushing out from the woods and hit the school. Water charms came out from the windows of the school and doused them as best they could.

"The fire is taking hold rapidly" remarked Miss Hardbroom.

"All the potion fumes helping to fuel it" said Ruby, and reached out a hand to flick a switch on a panel. "Okay… the fire is contained, and we have seven people heading this way" she said after a moment of looking at the camera feeds.

"Everyone, this is Big Momma" Miss Hardbroom frowned at her callsign. She would have liked to have something less rude, but if this was how it all worked, then Constance Hardbroom would deal with it. "We have people heading this way" and the groups acknowledged her message. "I still say I should have had a better name" she muttered.

"Its code, Miss" said Ruby. "If the Death Eaters get hold of one, then they will hear just a codename" and she explained the security implications. Miss Hardbroom accepted it but still frowned.

"Looks like we have a couple of people about to enter through Walker's Gate" said Miss Cackle.

"That should be Harry's job" Ruby said. "Okaaaaaay – the fire is contained, and we are ready to activate internal defences" she added. As she spoke, several of the Death Eaters vanished from sight.

"_They've gone invisible"_ said Mildred's voice from the radio.

"Acknowledged" Ruby replied. "Switching to infrared… now" and one of the cameras changed from a normal view to one of a hippie's heaven. However, they could still see the invisible Death Eaters under the disillusionment spells.

#

Harry waited for them to come through the gate before unleashing spell work. The first few shots missed, but he soon got the range and picked priority targets. Several Death Eaters went down to stunners, and Mildred nailed one with a well aimed binder. At that same moment, the other two positions opened up and poured spell fire into the courtyard. The Death Eaters attempted to blast holes in the towers and the walls, but they only created small chips in the stonework. Cracks did appear in the structure, but nobody minded them much as they had other things on their minds. When it looked as if the Death Eaters would entered the school itself, Harry switched from non lethal to spells that would do the job – right or wrong. He cut down four Death Eaters with a wide beam before they gathered their wits and began activating portkeys which took them and their fallen comrades away.

"_I want everybody back to the room"_ said Miss Cackle's voice sounded over the radio. Harry and Mildred waited a few seconds before heading back down top where Ruby had her little control room. "You have more experience then the rest of us at this, Harry" she said when they had all gathered in one place again. "Do you think this was it for the school?" she asked him.

"I don't think so" replied Harry. He flicked on the wireless and they listened to the WWN as reports of attacks were received.

"He must have all his followers in action" said Hardbroom quietly.

"What about the girls and staff?" asked Cackle.

"I sent them to my house" Harry said. "I had Dobby and Kreacher turn it into a place that would be hard to break into. Admittedly though, they might have some curse breakers – the Death Eaters that is – so they _could_ break down the wards surrounding Grimmauld Place. But they should have enough time to get the portkeys back to here" he added, and then stopped speaking as the WWN reported that Death Eaters had taken up a _guard_ around Hogwarts – attacking those students and staff who attempted to escape. It took a few moments for Harry and the others to realise that Dumbledore was not doing anything, had ambushed the Order and nearly all of the Aurors and was letting Voldemort take over. They all talked to each other about what best to do, and Harry knew that the battle would be won or lost at Hogwarts.

"Ruby?" Mildred spoke. "Couldn't you make something that could let Harry speak to everyone still free and get them to come here?" she asked, and there was a brief moment of silence before Ruby took hold of pencil and paper and began making drawings and writing down figures.

"Just about" and the girl set to work.

"How do you propose we go about fighting back?" asked Enid of Harry.

"People will be going to ground and hiding" said the wizard. "We have to get as many as we can here, treat as many as we can and then counter attack by taking Hogwarts" he added.

"But there are hundreds of Death Eaters, werewolves and other magical creatures surrounding it" Miss Cackle pointed out. "I do not think they will let us in just like that" but Harry smirked.

"We'll do a Maginot Line and go around them" and he explained that he needed to contact a good few many people – assuming they had escaped capture or being killed.

#

With Ruby working on building a functioning radio to override the WWN which was spewing out Death Eater Propaganda, the other girls and Harry took turns watching for more signs of attacks. Harry had calculated that they might use it one or two more times before they had the magical signature needed to pass through without a problem. Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom were in Cackle's office studying old texts on wards and protective shields. It had been at least three hours since the end of the attack by the small force, and Harry was resting in his room and most of the girls in theirs. Enid had the watch and was just about to turn away from the monitor when she spotted a number of brooms heading towards them at high speed.

"Anybody listening, it's Enid. We might have an issue here – brooms approaching fast" and Mildred, Maud and Jadu acknowledge the call at the same time. Harry's reply came a little sleep filled seconds later. Enid lowered the shield around the castle and the brooms made fast landings in the deserted courtyard. The riders of all ages, colours and creeds glanced around looking for someone, and eventually Harry came out of the shadows with his wand out – the girls with their casting fingers ready and waiting.

"Alright, Harry" said the familiar voice of Oliver Wood.

"What happened in your first quidditch match?" Harry asked, and aimed his wand at a point between Oliver's eyes.

"I was hit by a bludger"

"And what did I find you doing with Katie Bell in the showers?" he asked.

"Consoling her after her mother's death" Oliver stated calmly. Harry gave a stiff nod and then lowered his wand – Oliver breathing a sigh of relief at not being blasted apart.

"How did you get here?" asked Maud.

"We knew that Harry would have been here" said Oliver. "I gathered as many of my team mates and friends as I could and we flew here – lost a couple as we went over Swindon" he added. "I managed to get a message to Katie, Alicia and Angelina and they should be getting here soon if everything went well" and Drusilla and Ethel moved around the recent arrivals and helped those that had some injuries. Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom had spoken to Ethel the moment they saw her, and said that she would be punished most severely after this was all done with. They gathered in the great hall to talk.

#

"And what do you expect me to do?" asked Harry.

"I don't know" admitted Oliver, "But I don't think we can expect any help from the Aurors" he added.

"Is there anything that we _can_ do?" asked Cackle.

"Be ready for when the others get here" said Harry. "I suspect a lot of potions are needed, Miss Hardbroom" and the potion teacher nodded curtly and left the room for the potions lab. "We need hot food, drinks and all the medicines from the hospital wing. If you can get those Maud, then we..."

"_We have incoming"_ said Jadu over the radio. _"Broomsticks coming in from the south. About... five in total"_ she added. The brooms made a pass over the school and then made perfect landings in the courtyard. Harry pointed his wand at the general direction of Fred Weasley.

"Who was the first girl you ever saw in just their bra and knickers?" he asked.

"Gin" came the reply.

"Good" Harry said, and he flipped up his wand and placed it in the holder he had been wearing since news of the assault on the Ministry.

"Oliver!" George greeted his former house team captain.

"Glad to see you made it" said Oliver.

"Not as glad when we tell you what we heard" Fred said. "They know that you are here, Ollie, and there are a group of Death Eaters and traitorous flying up on brooms when they get in range" and Oliver shook his head in anger.

"We'll get the hell out of here" he said. "It'll take the heat off you" but George shook his head.

"The bastards coming to get you were already on their way here" he said. "Their orders are to arrest the teaching staff and any pupils – plus those people that escaped here. Dumbledore and Voldemort don't want to lose control of any school or place that could rebel against them" he said.

"Then we make our stand here" said Miss Cackle. "No doubt my sister, Agatha, is going to be with them. She knows the corridors and general layout of this castle as well as I do" she added.

"What do you suggest we do, Harry Potter?" asked Miss Hardbroom.

"We have no choice but to fight here, Miss Hardbroom" Harry replied sadly, "But at least we will know when they are coming, and have a few tricks up our sleeves" he smiled.

"Well if they are flying the whole way up here, then we have at least a few hours" Miss Cackle said. "Let us sort ourselves out for a moment" and with that they all set to work. It was decided that they would most likely not attack until the following morning, and Harry retired so he could get as much rest as possible before the confrontation the next day

#

Harry sat at his desk and looked at a picture of Hermione – throwing snowballs at an unhappy Miss Hardbroom.

"Oh, Mione…" he said sadly, "What I wouldn't give to have you advise us" and putting down the picture he turned back to the diary to finish it.

_28__th__ June_

_The Ministry has fallen, Hogwarts is now a den of Death Eaters and followers of Dumbledore. The whole of Magical Britain is in chaos, and people scattered all over the place. A squad of Death Eaters and traitors are coming to attack and kill us in the morning. Are we going to die? I have no idea. I __wonder if the Emperor Honorius watching the Visigoths coming over the Seventh Hill truly realized that the Roman Empire was about to fall. This is just another page in history, isn't it? Will this be the end of our civilization – a turn of the page? __My friends have responded with the dedication I've come to expect of them. We continue to prepare our defences for the inevitable confrontation, but... I must admit, on this night I contemplate the distinct possibility that no defence may be adequate against this enemy, and like a thousand other commanders on a thousand other battlefields, I wait for the dawn_.

# # # # #

"Are you all set?" Enid asked Mildred. The other girl nodded, took a deep breath before letting it out and heading towards her bedroom door. As she stepped out into the corridor, Mildred Hubble thought that this was going to be one of the most important nights of her life, and one that she couldn't screw up as it would destroy a most valued friendship. Mildred could feel the things that Maud and Enid assured her would please Harry under her nightshirt. As she stepped up to the door, she noticed light coming from Harry's bedroom, and she wondered if he was asleep or still awake. Summoning up all of her courage, Mildred put a hand on the door handle and turned it…

**A/N:**

**Well I hope you all liked this chapter enough to review it!**

**The opening shots have been fired, Dumbledore is holding up his part of the deal and Hogwarts is in one piece – though in partnership with Voldemort. Cackle's has become a place to attempt to get to, but only a few have made it before groups of snatchers turn up and arrest you - **_** if you are lucky**_**.**

**If we have any Babylon 5 and Star Trek fans in the house tonight, then there are quotes from both series some place in this chapter.**

**I must apologise for being so long, but one of the reasons was that this chapter took this piss out of Norway, but after what happened recently, I went through it and completely switched plots around and moved stuff up as I couldn't release it as it was. However, this means we can have our long awaited Harry/Mildred chapter – with others making more then just an appearance.**

**I expect perhaps three normal sized chapters with the biggie being the final battle in its entirety inside one 20,000 plus word chapter. I expect about a month to do that! Expect elements from some of my HP fics to put in an appearance, plus the most original idea to gain entry to Hogwarts.**

**Anyway, I must dash now to begin writing chapter 11 which has more limes then a lime tree!**

**Regards**

**Pixel**


	11. Close Encounters Of The Sexual Kind

**Close Encounters Of The Sexual Kind**

"Harry?" Mildred opened the door and slipped inside the room.

"Millie?" Harry looked over from where he had his feet up on the writing desk. The top button of his shirt was undone, and he was sipping from some Firewhiskey – the bottle within easy reach. "Come in and sit yourself down" he gestured at the seat that had formally been in Hermione's room. "Drink?" and he glanced over at the bottle which filled a second glass on its own.

"How much have you had?" asked Mildred. "We're fighting for our lives tomorrow" she pointed out.

"I might die tomorrow, but I'm sure as hell not going to do it sober. Its bloody dangerous I tell you!" Harry laughed and handed Mildred the glass. She hadn't had any at Christmas, but decided that as all hell was going to break loose the following day she might as well start. "So what brings you to my room at this late hour?" Harry asked as Mildred downed her glass in one and started choking.

"We might die tomorrow…" Mildred said, and she stood up and faced Harry. "You saved my life a couple of times now, and I owe you a lot and I've been thinking of ways to pay you back. You know that I don't have a lot of money, so I decided this was the best way…" and she pulled the top of her nightdress down and allowed it to pool around her feet before stepping over it. Harry's eyes had gone past the Mir space station, took a free spin past the Moon and was on course for Saturn's moon of Titan before his mouth had returned to a closed position. Mildred was wearing nothing under the now discarded nightdress but a thin and lacy red bra with a matching thong.

'_This Harry Potter has encountered a terminal error and needs to be rebooted. Do you wish to send God an error report?_' was the first thing to go through Harry's mind. His complete surprise was misinterpreted by Mildred, and she started crying thick and fast.

"I messed everything up again didn't I?" she asked. "I should have known you're still upset over Hermione's death, but I come in her and offer myself as some kind of… of… some kind of slut!" and she shrieked the last word out in disgust at herself. "I'm not even very pretty at all, and I should have known that. I really am the worst witch at the school… Now all I've done is ruin our friendship. I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore…" she replaced her nightshirt and went to the door, but a hand on her shoulder turn her around. Mildred was pulled into Harry's chest as he held the girl as she sobbed at what she believed was a mistake she had created.

"Mildred, you haven't messed things up" Harry said gently. "I was just surprised – and a little shocked – at what you just did. But you are wrong you know, Millie. You are one very smart, very funny and VERY beautiful young woman" Mildred pulled away from Harry and looked at him with a frown.

"Are you playing with me?" she asked.

"I would never do that" Harry assured her. I've fancied you since the day I saw you, but it is also true that I loved and cared for Hermione deeply. Perhaps we may have gotten married and lived a long life together, but that is all in the past now and will never happen. I suppose you could call what we have had 'dates', so Mildred Georgina Hubble would you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?" Harry asked. Mildred stared at Harry in amazement before nodding softly and crying a few tears of joy and happiness.

"Yes…" she whispered quietly. "Yes please. I'd like that very much" and Harry dipped his head down and kissed Mildred on the lips for a full minute.

"I don't think we'll be needing the nightshirt" he said quietly. He led her gently to the bed as they gently kissed and touched each other's bodies in an intimate way for the first time.

Harry's clothes came off first so that he was only in his boxers, and then he slowly removed Mildred's nightshirt. He looked at Mildred and got the permission he wanted and delicately removed her bra and thereby released her breasts from their prison. They were not that large, but then again they were not too small. The cool night air hardened the nipples almost at once, and Harry lowered his head and took the left nipple into his mouth and gently sucked. Mildred gasped at the new sensation, but soon learned to like it, and she moaned in delight as Harry moved over to pay her other breast the same treatment – running his finger over the left nipple and areola. When Harry was satisfied, he ran his hands down Mildred's sides and she shivered in delight. She looked down and kissed Harry passionately, and they engaged in a bit of tonsil tennis until both were ready for a new step. Mildred could feel herself soaking wet through her thong, and she was sure Harry could see and smell it as well. She pushed Harry down onto the bed and bent down and did the same to his nipples as he had done to hers. One different thing though was that she remembered Harry mentioning he squeezed his, and so she did it to him now – eliciting a gasp at the sudden pain. When she was done, the girl's hands went south to the waistline of Harry's boxers and then they suddenly started shaking. With a look at Harry's reassuring nod and smile, Mildred pulled down the boxers and freed Harry's enlarged and hardened member. She was startled by the length and size of it, and Mildred was wondering how the hell she was going to get it inside of herself. She knew that that area could stretch to accommodate such things, but Harry's member surely qualified for its own time zone on account of the size.

"Okay?" asked Harry.

"Yeah" Mildred said, and she looked up to meet Harry's gaze.

"We don't have to do this you know" he told her. "I'm not going to force you into this" but Mildred shook her head.

"I want this" she told him, and then removed the thong to reveal her inner core.

"You're beautiful" breathed Harry. He reached out a hand and ran his fingers over her outer lips, and Mildred shuddered as the sensation went up her spine. It was like the time she had turned into the crystal ice statue what seemed like a lifetime ago. Without thinking, Harry slipped one finger and then another into his girlfriend's folds – feeling the little hair that there was against his fingers. He moved them back and forth whilst Mildred was feeling slightly light headed from the pleasure she was receiving from Harry. She rocked back and forth in time with Harry's fingers – covered in her juices - until she came with an almighty scream that ripped out the room and down the corridors.

#

Miss Hardbroom heard the scream, knew at once it was Mildred Hubble's voice, and transported herself to the room of the girl. When she wasn't there, she went to Harry's and found both Harry and Mildred engaged in sex.

'_Well, Mildred, it seems we've got a subject you can excel in. A+ I think. That's something Ethel can't beat you in_' and she transported herself away whiles still invisible.

#

"Gods… that was amazing" Mildred panted heavily as she came down from her orgasm.

"Well I am supposed to be gifted in many ways…" Harry said with a grin, and then was surprised when Mildred bent her head and took him inside her mouth. As her head went up and down, she ran her tongue along Harry's length and used it to circle the tip of the even more hardened member. It twitched a couple of times as it responded to the attention given to it, and Harry could only wonder where she had learned what to do and from where. Harry just lay there with his eyes looking at the sight of Mildred bobbing up and down enthusiastically on his shaft, and using her hands to pump it at the same time. Then he felt a sensation building at the base and he knew instantly what was going to happen.

"Millie… I'm gonna cum…" he said urgently.

"Ivft mupfh knowth" Mildred spoke with a full mouth. Before Harry could pull her head off himself, his gave one last twitch and then Harry felt a release as his seed burst into Mildred's mouth. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, but she continued to bob up and down and take in as much as she could. It was too much though, and she pulled up and started coughing and spluttering. Harry's semen dripped from Mildred's mouth as the girl looked up to meet her partner's gaze. "Was I good?" she asked.

"You did it perfectly" Harry said, and he flicked his hand and Mildred's face was clean once again. "Are you alright though?" he asked with concern.

"I'll be alright" said Mildred as she nodded, "I just thought I could swallow it all" and Harry assured her that for her first time she had done better then anyone could have expected. He pulled her close to him and the pair cuddled up under the duvet.

#

Miss Amelia Cackle, Headmistress of Cackle's Academy of Witchcraft, sat in her office with the only other remaining staff member – Constance Hardbroom. Neither of them spoke very much, and this gave Amelia more then enough time to think about the battle that would take place the next morning. Whilst it was true that she had had to defend the school many times previous, the woman had to face the fact she may well be called upon to take the life of another living person. That thought had made her very much ill, but Hardbroom had pointed out that the Death Eaters and the hangers on would be under no such problems. Whilst she had been in a number of fights in her younger days, the one thing that concerned her right now was the fact that she would be facing off against her own sister. There was no doubt that Agatha would try to either enchant her or simply kill her sister and take over the school for use in the perverted Dark Arts. It was true though that Cackle's taught the pupils many of the dark spells so they could recognise them and cast appropriate shields for defence. Now the headmistress faced the likelihood that she would be using those spells in anger.

"Perhaps you should go to bed" suggested Hardbroom, but Miss Cackle shook her head.

"I couldn't sleep – not with this going on" she said. Hardbroom thought of something and then handed her friend and employer a small bottle of a bright red substance.

"A sleeping draught" Hardbroom said. "I was going to take one myself. This will give you seven hours at least of a dreamless sleep" and Cackle took it, thanked her friend and then went off to her quarters. Hardbroom finished her tea before heading off to her own rooms. Normally there would have been alarm bells ringing from her mind at the thought of leaving the castle in the hands of a handful of graduated wizards and witches, plus seven witches in training as well as Harry. Of course they had surveillance equipment around the castle, and a two hour watch put on it. They had changed Hardbroom's opinion on the more modern technology somewhat, and the normally icy teacher had been given to the idea that the cameras could stay if they won the battle. She passed those that had managed to escape the Ministry and other places, and she nodded at them politely as they did to her. As she entered her quarters, Hardbroom wondered which side her old tutor Mistress Broomhead would be on – Light side or Dark side? The answer to that question was going to come a lot sooner then she thought.

#

Drusilla had offered to relieve Ruby early, and she sat watching the screens with Ethel sat on her lap. Both girls had their shirts undone and Ethel had one hand on Drusilla's chest and was feeling her soft and round breasts as Drusilla did the same to her. Ethel was happy and content to be in the arms of her girlfriend, and she was glad that Drusilla understood her and didn't reject their friendship over her revelation that she was a lesbian. It had surprised her to learn that Drusilla was bisexual and had been for a while, and it was puzzling to think she never knew that fact about her friend.

"An hour left" remarked Ethel.

"Not so much as a twitch" Drusilla said, and kissed the top of Ethel's head affectionately. "Ethel…?"

"Mmmm?" Ethel mumbled as her hair was stroked by her girlfriend.

"If we both get through this, howabout we get married?" Drusilla asked softly.

"Two girls can't get married – you know that" Ethel told her.

"True" replied Drusilla, "And I was thinking about this when I spoke to Harry. He said that we could get bonded to each other, and then it would be very much like being married to each other. Of course we wouldn't have some of the legal rights, but we can make our arrangements with that bank of Harry's" she said. Ethel turned her head to gaze into Drusilla's eyes, and she could feel the love radiating from them.

"You'd do that for me?" she asked quietly.

"Eth, I'd break the Witches Code for you if I had to" and Drusilla put her head down and kissed Ethel lovingly on the lips. Once they had been relieved on the watch, the pair went to Drusilla's room to explore how much they loved each other.

#

"Are you finished yet?" asked Katie.

"Almost" replied Fred. All of the escapees from the fall had gathered in the chanting room with their brooms. It was the informed opinion that they would either need to attack from the air or make a fast getaway from the school. If that was the case, then the brooms needed to be in as tip top shape as possible. Each broom lay in its component parts and was being serviced thoroughly, put back together once more and then given a coating of resin. They had a quick flight around the outside of the castle in order to ensure everything was correct before landing. Once Fred's broom was finished, he did the test flight before landing and joining his fellow Quidditch players.

"Have we heard anything else about who might have escaped?" asked Oliver.

"A few" said Alicia bitterly. "Radio Death Eater gave out a notice that all muggleborns are either to be captured or killed on sight. The Ministry issued a termination order to the Aurors who have refused to surrender. Mostly everyone we know would have been at Hogwarts when everything kicked off. Nearly all the students have been confined to their Houses – minus the purebloods of course. The place has a ring of Dementors around it, and with all those Death Eaters inside…" the girl trailed off in anger.

"If only we could get into Hogwarts and free the students" said Angelina, "Then we'd have enough people to hold the castle until we get the remaining free Aurors as a defensive measure. The only flaw is that Voldemort will come in force to retake the place and kill Harry" and there was some serious thinking going on.

"Our main problem is getting those Dementors away from the castle" George pointed out. "If we could create a diversion of some kind, then we could at least remove one problem" but Oliver hit upon a flaw.

"If Dumbledore is as good as he is supposed to be, then he'll have the wards around the castle set to not let anybody not an Order member or a Death Eater through. How the hell do we get past such a defence?" he questioned.

"Harry will come up with something" said Fred confidently.

"More like Hermione" Oliver muttered. "And speaking of which, isn't it odd that we haven't seen her at all?" and the others looked a little uncomfortable. "What's up…?" asked Oliver with concern.

"Hermione was killed by either Death Eaters or Order members dressed like them a few months ago" Alicia said sadly. "I guess you didn't hear about it" she added.

"Merlin… How did he cope?" asked Oliver. He was a little cut up at both not knowing, and the loss of such a brilliant young and promising witch.

"He didn't" George told him.

"But I think Harry should tell you about it" put in Fred.

"Lets get some rest" said Angelina.

"It's my turn on the watch" said Katie, and she headed off to relieve Ethel and Drusilla – noting the state of undress of the pair as she did so.

#

Harry lay on his bed with Mildred to his left, Maud to his right, Ruby and Jadu curled up by his feet, and Enid laying in between his legs. Eventually the girls had each come to his room and given themselves to Harry freely, and Harry had been in bliss as he lay back and thought of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and the rest of the Commonwealth After each orgasm, he felt a little bit more in tune with his magic, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the girls had given up their virginities in some kind of sex based magic ritual to boost his power by a large amount. For the first time since Hermione's death Harry felt secure in his life, and he realised that it was the love that the girls had given him over the previous eight hours. Slowly though, night became a grey dawn and they all woke fully and prepared for the attack. Harry and the girls showered, dressed in their armour and went down for breakfast. It turned into a meeting of everyone capable of fighting, and a series of plans was made.

"I want that shield up the moment they start firing spells" said Harry. "As for you and your team mates, Oliver, I want you to be ready to take off and distract them from the air. Make strafing runs at them, but don't put yourselves into more then reasonable danger. I want us all to come out of this in more or less one piece. Fred, George? I want you two to fly around the area and drop the runes so those bastards can't apperate or portkey away" and the twins nodded.

"What about us?" asked Harry's female former team mates.

"You three fly as cover for the twins" he said. "They'll have to fly out of here, and we have enough Anti-Aircraft fire to cover that if needed. Whatever happens, we will not be letting them get away. Leave the one that looks like Miss Cackle to her – Agatha is hers and hers alone. Take prisoners if possible, but don't hesitate to use lethal force if you need to. We're soldiers in a war now, and the main aim of a soldier is to defeat the enemy and return home _alive_" and with that everybody split up and went to their designated areas of the school. At precisely nine, a dozen spells flew out of the woods and hit the walls of the castle. The shield went up at the same time that the Weasley twins and their cover left to do their most important task.

The opening shots had been fired in the counter attack of the 2nd Dark War

**A/N:**

**Before anyone comments, at the time the HP books were set, the Mir space station was still in orbit, so I am correct in that regard.**

**This chapter dedicated to XRadierV17, diimortal, joemjackson and Margaret Luna Sullivan**


	12. Battle Abound

**Battle Abound**

The shield was holding for the time being, but Harry was uncertain how long that would last. If the Death Eaters called for back up, or got Giants to come marching through then all hell would break loose. The Anti Apperation and Anti Portkey runes had been placed around the castle and surrounding woods, but that would not stop them from running to the outside and getting reinforcements.

"How long do you think they will keep this up?" asked Mildred.

"If magic fails, then they'll walk through the shield" Harry replied. "Of course, Miss Cackle's sister would be able to tell them where to go, and what hidden traps there may be in the school" he added.

"And because she is Miss Cackle's identical twin sister, the magic in the school's protections can not tell the difference between the pair" Mildred frowned. "All she would have to do is get inside the Headmistress's office and lower the enchantments" and Harry nodded in agreement. There was a pause as they watched and heard the spells impacting the shield over the school, and then Harry spoke quietly to Mildred.

"Millie, you might have to kill someone. Do you think you can handle that?" he asked her.

"I can handle that" she said at last. "We're in a war, and I will do anything to make sure we are safe" and Harry kissed her on the lips. He knew how hard this was going to be for her, and he hoped that Mildred wouldn't be called upon to take another person's life. He had done so on several occasions, and it still haunted him from time to time. Mildred was just too innocent to let that happen to her.

#

"We've found the magical frequency that the shield is working at" said a hooded Death Eater.

"Good" said Agatha Cackle. "Once it is down, I shall get to my sister's office and remove all the enchantments. Then there will be nothing to stop us from taking the school. Remember one thing though," she added, "If you see Hardbroom, kill her immediately. Once she is dead, then nothing can stop us from taking over the school" and the Death Eaters nodded and started firing spells at the same frequency as the shield. Then they started pushing up the power in overriding amounts until the shield flickered, groaned and then fell with a loud booming noise echoing around the area for miles around.

#

"The shield is down" Harry cursed. He and Mildred had been thrown back by the force of the attack.

"Launch" Mildred spoke quickly into the radio she held. Seconds later the brooms of most of the Puddlemere United team rose into the sky and began circling the castle. A battery of killing curses shot up from the forest, but none of them made contact as they wheeled around the area. They split into two and used the spell locations to start doing strafing runs as the girls and Harry took their places and started firing non offencive spells into the woods. The pitched battle lasted for a full hour, and nobody spotted somebody appearing in the shadows of the courtyard. Several cracks appeared in the outer walls of the school, and the attacks mainly concentrated on the gates of the school. The Death Eaters had a nearly endless supply of fighters, and they got near the gates but held back from entering the courtyard. It looked very much as if they awaited a signal, but nobody knew what the signal was.

#

"Soon _I_ will be Headmistress of this school, and Cackle's will produce hundreds of Dark Witches for generations to come" Agatha said as she entered Amelia's office. She was carrying the same special magic that Coldstone and Bindweed had been carrying on their last attempt to take over the school, and she hoped to use it on her weak minded sister. "Now to lower the defences…" she muttered, and started the long chants that Granny Cackle had taught both her and Amelia years ago. "_Aspiritou Santos Aquarana. Defendus maximus. Pirontai druli_" she kept chanting the same thing over and over again, and slowly the school's own wards came down.

#

"Are you alright?" asked Hardbroom with concern.

"I'm not sure" said Miss Cackle. She felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her, and there was only a few reasons why this would have happened. "Harry?" she called into her radio, "Have you lowered the school's wards?"

"_NO_" came the shouted reply as Harry and Mildred were involved in some heavy fight.

"Well if he didn't lower them, then what else could it… be…" Miss Cackle trailed off as she realised what had happened.

"The wards" Miss Hardbroom spoke the thought aloud as she sent a Death Eater spinning backwards to hit the edge of the broom shed with a crunch. "Can you hard them off here?" she asked Fred.

"I'll die trying" came the cheerful reply.

"I sincerely hope it does not come to that" Miss Hardbroom said, and she and Miss Cackle rushed from the 1st floor and headed off to Miss Cackle's office. The battle took place all over the castle, and the fighters did their best to hold off the Death Eaters – but it was clear they needed a miracle to do beat them.

#

"You…" Agatha hissed as her twin and Hardbroom came bursting through the door of the office.

"Stop this at once, Agatha. This time you have gone too far!" Amelia said. "You have broken the Witches Code, allied with dark and evil magicians and caused death and suffering to hundreds of people. If you stop now, then I promise to give you a fair trial" she added.

"Oh, a fair trial you say?" Agatha cackled, "I don't think so… You see the castle can not tell between the two of us, and now I am going to make sure that you are never a thorn in my side ever again" and she raised her hands and cast a spell. "_Avada Septumbre lokmatris_" and the spell hit her twin and she was thrown to the stone wall with a sickening crunch.

"I believe the term is 'the gloves are off'. Stop this attack of yours now!" Hardbroom said, quickly glancing at the moaning figure of Miss Cackle. She raised her hands to cast a spell, but they became frozen by her sides with a few muttered words from Agatha. It was clear that she had become even more powerful then their last encounter, and Constance assumed it was down to the alliance she had with the Death Eaters.

"Now, now…" Agatha said in a tone used to chastise small children. "It is wrong to attack your Headmistress"

"You will _never_ be that" Hardbroom said, trying hard to get her arms moving once more.

"Oh, but I already am" Agatha replied. "You see this special magic?" she held out the little bottle – the same one taken from her and her cronies four years ago. "When this is thrown at the feet of a target, it smashes open to produce a vapour that kills the person in about three minutes. I am told it is a most lingering and painful death" but she put it down on Amelia's desk. "First though, I am going to take great delight in giving you the same pain that you gave to me" and sent a bolt of ice white magic at her sister. Amelia arched her back and twitched as every nerve fired at the same time. The resulting scream was the worst that Constance had ever heard, and she prayed that her friend and Headmistress would die quickly and not suffer much. Her prayers were not answered, and in fact she herself got the same treatment from Agatha. It felt like her body was in a giant vice, and she considered the idea that she and her oldest and closest friend would die this die. Oddly, one of her thoughts was how terrible she had been towards Mildred in past years.

"Please… kill me" she managed to hiss through the pain.

"I don't think so" Agatha replied.

"We don't think so either" said a pair of voices, and Agatha cut the spell off as she spun round to look at Harry and Mildred standing shoulder to shoulder in the doorway.

"Surrender" Harry said, pointing his wand at the woman.

"Or you'll do what?" mocked Agatha. "Kill me?" and she saw the slight movement in Harry's arm.

"You are nothing but a rabid animal" Mildred spat out, and the air tingled with magical energy. "And we put those sorts of animals down" and she hurried both hands up and hit Agatha with a spell so powerful it went straight through her and blasted a hole clean in her middle.

"You… you killed me" Agatha said in a whisper, and Mildred fired the same spell and blasted the dead witch to pieces. The noise of the double explosions echoed through the office like a gunshot, and Mildred was stunned by the knowledge of what she had just done to Agatha. The smell of burning flesh filled the room, and it turned the stomachs of most of the people in the room.

"Miss Hardbroom, are you alright?" asked Harry.

"Not really, no…" she admitted. "What of Miss Cackle?" the witch asked, shakily standing against the wall. Harry did a quick diagnostic spell on the prone figure, and read the piece of paper that appeared in his hand.

"She'll live" Harry said at last, "But I refuse to speculate past that" and both the radios started transmitting at the same time.

'_Death Eaters closing in from multiple directions_' came Jadu's voice. '_I don't think we're going to win this one_' she added. Harry mentally ran through the damage to the castle, the number of fighters in the school and came upon a decision.

"Harry to everybody. We are evacuating the school… repeat: we are evacuating the school. All fighters keep pressing forwards until we're all clear. Ruby, Jadu. I want you to destroy the equipment. I don't intend to leave them anything useful" Harry issued rapid orders. A chorus of replies filtered through the radio, and Harry activated the inbuilt One Way portkey inbuilt into the radios. Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom vanished in a flash of light, and Harry banished Agatha's body away and out of sight.

"We have to go" he said to Mildred, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling the girl out of the room behind him.

"Where are we going?" asked Mildred, still very pale from her actions.

"To Grimmauld Place! Harry replied, wand out in case of trouble. "Dobby and Kreacher converted most of the house into something large enough for all the students to stay in" and he pushed the button on the radio. "Who is remaining?" he asked.

'_Just me and Jadu_' came Ruby's voice. '_We made sure that everyone was away before destroying the equipment_' she added.

"Well abandon ship then" Harry said, and a few seconds later the pair portkeyed away. Harry and Mildred heard the cries and yells of the Death Eaters running into Cackle's properly, and both activated their portkeys which whisked them away in the nick of time.

#

"Stand down!" shouted Enid.

"Nice security you have" Harry commented. "What is the situation here?" he asked her.

"Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom are in rooms and healing nicely. Miss Drill has gone out in one of the cars to buy stuff, and Miss Bat is looking after the younger ones" Enid replied, and then looked at Mildred with some worry.

"Mildred was forced to take drastic actions" Harry explained. "I suggest that you take her upstairs and keep an eye on her. If you see Fenny and Griz, then send them my way" and Enid nodded before leading her friend away. Most of the pupils were happy to see Harry come through in more or less one piece, and they all wanted to know what they could do to help take back their school.

"What do we do now?" asked Ethel, standing to one side of the living room with Drusilla and Ruby.

"We need to see what is going on outside, how many people are going to be able to help us and who is on Voldemort's side" Harry said. Turning to Ruby, he asked her to resume work on the radio set and the girl nodded and headed off to the workshop in the basement. Because he knew they were all scared, Harry had the younger pupils start making useful potions. It was not very much, but it kept their minds off what was going on.

With both Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom out of action for at least a week, leadership of the school – and the responsibility of its pupils - fell upon the shoulders of Miss Bat. The woman knew she was not as powerful as Cackle or Hardbroom, and was more then aware that most people thought she was a little strange and more then a little crazy, but she would be damned if she allowed anything to hurt the children that looked up to her. Bat knew nothing of how to fight a magical battle, but she did always make the right choices in the end. She listened to what Harry had to say about the fight at the castle, and agreed they should not do anything to attract attention from the Death Eaters. Because of her forgetful nature, she asked Harry to make her the secret keeper for Grimmauld Place, and Miss Drill and Harry were surprised at the genius of the plan.

# # # # #

'_The Dark Lord graciously allowed his followers to execute the blood traitors Anthony Boot, Ernie McMillan, Katie MacDougal and Eloise Midgen. They were tortured with the unforgettables and then slowly killed for the enjoyment of the public. More attacks by the remnants of the Blood Traitors, the Order of the Phoenix and mudbloods claimed the lives of a hundred loyal and faithful Death Eaters and other followers. We now return you to your classic favourite '_Name That Mudblood'_ after this message from our sponsor…_' Harry turned the radio off and fell back in his seat with head in his hands. It had been three days since the fight at the Academy, and the reports had come in every hour from the WWN about the latest murders of the innocent, but he didn't know if the numbers of Death eater dead were true. Harry was working on the basis that it was false, and it was propaganda from Voldemort to gain more support. Ruby had been working almost around the clock in the workshop to finish the radio that they would use to override the signal of the WWN. The first time would be just switching it on for a few seconds and tapping the microphone, and then seeing the results of the test. If everything went to plan, then they would be doing an actual voice broadcast the following day. He looked over to where Mildred was bringing the characters from books to amuse the younger children. It had taken a lot of convincing that what she had done was the right thing to do, but Mildred had still cried for several hours until she had thrown up and then fallen asleep.

"I just checked on Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom" said Miss Bat as she stepped near to Harry. "Both of them were affected by Agatha's magic badly, and its going to take weeks rather then days for them to recover. Miss Cackle is not as young a witch as she used to be" the teacher added. "Anything on the news?" she indicated the wireless set.

"Just the normal rubbish" Harry told her. "But I have an idea on something that we can do…" and he got her, Mildred and Jadu together for a plan.

#

"We're all ready to get this done" said Ruby, and she threw several switches on some panels. The workshop hummed with the power being fed through the radio and broadcasting equipment. Fennella and Griselda had gone through the research Hermione had made into the powering of muggle objects in a magical environment. Useful information was then passed on to Ruby who made the needed adjustments and applied the charms. Miss Drill was most useful in picking up the parts as most of it could be gained from electronic and specialist radio stores.

"Ready to begin the break in" said Enid. Harry nodded, cast a ward round himself and the broadcast booth before cueing Ruby.

"Good evening, this is Harry Potter speaking to you from a secure location. I have heard rumours of my death, but please know this is in fact completely false. Voldemort has taken over the Ministry in association with Albus Dumbledore. Together they are holding all the students at Hogwarts, hunting those Aurors who managed to escape and killing anybody that disagrees with their policies. One of my best friends was killed in a small skirmish before this all started, and I make the same promise that I made to her. I vow to never rest from fighting until Voldemort, Dumbledore and their followers face justice for what they have done, or otherwise I am dead. I urge all those remaining free to be safe, don't go fighting and wait for the signal. I will speak to you again sometime in the next week. Goodbye" and at that same moment, Ruby switched off the transmitter as Harry cancelled the charms. "That should ruffle a few feathers" Harry said as he sipped some pumpkin juice.

"It'll take some time for them to regain the signal" Ruby said. "We should go up to the study and listen" and she led the way upstairs.

#

As it happened, it took them a full hour before the WWN came back on the air. It claimed that it was not Harry at all who had spoken, but was an attempt to deceive the 'loyal members of this Wizarding community' and that they shouldn't listen to these broadcasts. A meeting was held in the library of Harry, the girls and Miss Bat. Miss Drill was with the younger pupils making more potions. They had been very enthusiastic when it was explained it would annoy Hardbroom to discover that Drill could make potions like most of them could.

"So what is your plan, Harry?" asked Miss Bat.

"We need to make a series of attacks" Harry said. "Hermione planned for this, and ordered copies of most of the magical buildings in the country" but Miss Bat frowned.

"I don't think that Miss Cackle would like it very much" she said.

"But we wouldn't be fighting a huge battle, but rather just to annoy people and chip the paint off the place" Jadu said.

"We also need to see how many people can join us" Mildred said. "We can not just rely on a handful of people" she added.

"I have an idea where we can get a couple of people" Harry said, "I just hope they got there in time" and he went on to explain the many houses he had owned. He had given the locations to most of his fellow Gryffindors, some Hufflepuffs, a number of Ravenclaws as well as the few Slytherins that seemed to either be neutral or on his side of truth.

#

Several people had been outside the castle when Hogwarts was surrounded by Death Eaters, and a pitched battle had taken place in a unknowing defence of the school. When it was clear that Dumbledore had sided with Voldemort, those that could apperated away. A number managed to make it to Hogsmede and used the many floos there, but some got captured and taken back to the castle. They had all listened to the news as reports came in, and they knew the takeover was almost total. They heard rumours of fighting by Aurors in the darkest parts of the Ministry, rebels in the south and west of the country, but nothing could be put down for certain. Each house had enough supplies to last a group of seven for several weeks. This worked out well for some of the houses because not everybody had managed to make it. Everybody on Harry's list had done so though, and they awaited news of Harry's capture, death or flight.

"Do you think that was really him?" asked Hannah Abbott.

"I don't really know" replied her friend, Susan Bones. "It sounded like what he would say" she mused.

"How do you think he will contact us?" asked Hannah. "All the postal owls are grounded until notice, and only the pureblood Owls are allowed out nowadays. I hardly think he is going to take out an advert in the _Prophet_ either" she smiled at the last.

"We'll you know Harry" said another voice, "He'll do something that surprises us all" and Daphne Greengrass didn't know how right she was.

**A/N:**

**Okay, so if you are reading this you have either read chapter 12 of Special Union, or have otherwise accidentally found it whilst trying to google for a guide to putting together IKEA furniture – one of the two.**

**I hope the battle was alright! Be nice to read your opinions on Mildred's killing of Agatha, to be honest. Also got some backstory for the other escapees, who managed to get out of Hogwarts at the beginning, what is going on in the Wizarding world… a real mixture for you.**

**Next chapter should be in about a fortnight as I'm going on my long delayed railtour from York behind the Royal Train! *claps hands in delight* Yes, Pixel has his connections you see… :D**

**Well you should be getting this at roughly the same time as Escape To A New World and Children In Charge 2… That should boost my fanfiction traffic counters a bit.**

**Regards**

**Pixel**


	13. The Time Is Drawing Nearer

**The Time Is Drawing Nearer**

The day started off with bright sunshine pouring through the windows, and Harry's first thought was to use the killing curse on the Sun. He got up from his bed, showered, dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. Even though Grimmauld Place was nearly full to bursting point, Harry still retained a bedroom for himself. The only other bedroom which was otherwise unaltered was Hermione's old room. Some of the girls had dressed in their uniforms out of habit, and had been looking around for Miss Hardbroom to appear out of the either.

"Morning, Harry" Enid waved to him from one of the round tables that had been put in the expanded dining room to accommodate the entire group. It now resembled an oversized cafe in its layout. He slipped into a seat and was going to help himself to some eggs, bacon, beans, fried bread, mushrooms, sausages and tomatoes when he spotted something was missing.

"DOBBY!" he called.

"Yes, Master Harry?" the elf said as it appeared.

"You forgot the Hash Browns" Harry said. Dobby's eyes widened before it put its head down and rammed itself into the wall. The others who had come down for breakfast early looked on in horror, and an enterprising Second Year, who knew this was a bad idea for the elf to do, stood up and did a rugby tackle on it that would have done the English team proud. She went flying around on the floor and kept Dobby tightly to her chest.

"Can I kick him for a conversion?" she asked.

"Sorry" Harry said as he scooped the protesting and wailing elf into his arms. The girl picked herself up and dusted herself off.

"Ladies" she said and returned to her seat to a round of applause.

# # # # #

The radio only gave out messages of propaganda, interspaced with reports of deaths and raids carried out by the Order and Ministry rebels. Some held out a hope that an organised movement was being made by the escaped Ministry members, but Harry knew that the number of those not loyal to Voldemort or at least sympathetic to his cause was low indeed. There was the questionable actions of several Order of the Phoenix members, and Harry was able to tell who had followed Dumbledore in allying with Voldemort. So far, nobody had noticed in the muggle world, and this made it quite safe to walk about in public view. Neither Miss Hardbroom or Miss Cackle had awakened, and Mildred suggested getting Miss Bat to sing The Frog Chorus in order to make them wake, but not even that helped at all. The younger pupils were getting a little restless and frustrated at not being able to move around, and so Harry, Mildred and Ethel worked out the logistics of an idea. It was arranged for them to go on a sightseeing tour of London on a chartered bus in groups of eight, and the day out included a lunch at the famous Harrods store, a visit to the Houses of Parliament and a trip to the world famous Hamleys' Toy Store which made most of them go glassy eyed. They told Harry they wished they could purchase something, but had no access to their money at that moment. Harry simply produced one of his Gringotts cards and brought each of them a doll. When it came down to Fennella and Griselda, the two girls told Harry they wanted nothing more then to own the art sets that were on sale. It included a calligraphy set, which pleased the pair as they loved books almost as much as Hermione used to.

"Harry?" Drusilla's voice brought Harry out of the memories of the happy and smiling faces of the younger witches as they all played with the dolls they now owned. It had filled him with joy to see them all happy and smiling – unlike his own childhood.

"Yes?" he said.

"We just heard that Dumbledore on the radio praising Voldemort. He said they know the locations of certain safe houses because of an insider working at Gringotts, though he didn't say _who_ of course" Drusilla said.

"I would put my money on it being Bill Weasley" Harry said. "He works as a Curse Breaker for them, and that would mean knowing about privacy wards, charms and secrecy spells on properties. I bet he would also have known who was made the Secret Keepers for the places" he added bitterly. The days had rolled by, and Harry finally snapped. "Gather the group together" he said to Drusilla.

#

"Thanks for coming so quickly" said Harry.

"Oh, I would not have missed this for the world…" said Enid dryly.

"Some of our safe houses may or may not have been compromised by Bill Weasley. Ladies, the time has come to go on the offensive. We are going to go out to our safe houses and look at them from a distance. If they look to be in danger or are under attack, then we are going in there with spells blazing. This is a war, and we are soldiers – whether we like that fact or not. Drill and Bat are not going to let us go out, but I fully intend to go anyway" Harry paused to look around the study. "If you want, you can say no and I shall not think any less of you" and there was a few moments of silence.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say 'to hell with our orders'" said Ethel.

"Yeeeesssss!" exclaimed Harry in delight. "Well get to your rooms and change into your armour. Ethel, there should be some in your size in your room" he added. The girl in question nodded before turning away and headed upstairs.

"Harry…" Mildred lingered behind everyone else.

"Mmm…?"

"If I don't make it… promise me that you'll find somebody else to love" Mildred's face dripped a few tears.

"Millie… I intend to get the job done and come home alive" Harry kissed her forehead. "And so are you" he added.

#

"And where do you think you are going?" demanded Sybil.

"Nowhere" replied Ethel quickly.

"Just stop it" said Sybil. "I know you are going out there and fighting Voldemort. I wish I could come with you, but my magic is not at a level that would be useful in a fight" the younger girl added.

"But you can still be useful" said Ethel as she stepped out of her jeans. "We need you to get the place ready for possible wounded. We need you to do it without letting either Bat or Drill know what is going on. The pair of them have no idea that we are leaving" she continued as she changed into a pair of light cotton knickers and a bra. They provided better movement with the Dragon hide armour she was now pulling on. Drusilla just got on with putting hers on and never said a word as she left.

"Just promise me that you will come back" Sybil said as she cried from fear. "I nearly lost our parents. I can not loose you" and the sisters embraced before Ethel pulled back and left Sybil standing and wondering what was going to happen to her.

#

A few pops later, and they stood over an impressive looking manor house. A sloping rear garden led down to the cliff overlooking the sea, and the group waited for some time to see what the situation was. Harry was about to make a portkey to go to the next location when Maud spotted three tall and hooded figures emerging from the house.

"Death Eaters" she hissed and pointed them out.

"Are we too late?" asked Ruby.

"I don't know" said Harry. "There isn't any resistance… maybe…" and he fingered his wand which was sat in the holster. "Maud, Rudy, Enid, Jadu. Split up from us and work your way around the far side. If we have to fight our way inside that house, we can set up a crossfire to deal with those three" but then it turned out there was no need as for such plans as the Death Eaters turned and set fire to the house – portkeying away after they did the work.

"Oh fuck…" moaned Mildred as they heard screams from inside the house. At least one person was still alive inside the burning house, and Harry led the charge over to the now well alight building. With Harry remaining outside with Ethel to create water jets, the others went inside and searched the house for any living – or dead – occupants. They found a few people before the pure heat from the flames made operations too difficult to continue.

"Do you know them?" asked Drusilla. Harry replied that he did, and introduced them as Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Ben Sherman and a 2nd year Ravenclaw girl.

"Did anybody bring a Pepper Up?" he asked. Jadu fished around in her cloak for one and poured it down the throat of Dean. He coughed and spluttered as he came fully around from all the smoke he had breathed in.

"Harry?" he blinked, and then noticed the girls around him. "I'm dead, and this is one very good heaven" he muttered.

"Actually you needed a parachute – you went the other way" sniggered Ruby.

"They said you were dead, Harry" Dean said, coming to a sitting position. "We heard it on the wireless. We heard your broadcast, but we assumed that it was Dumbledore or the Death Eaters imitating your voice. Harry!" he suddenly became animated. "Hogwarts has fallen – we've got to get there" and Harry assured him that he knew what was going on at Hogwarts.

"Right now, we need to get you to a safe place" he said. "Who is the girl, by the way?" Harry asked Dean.

"Her name is Rudy Dykes. Me and Seamus went out around the grounds to do some stuff for Herbology when Hogwarts was lost. We tried to get back to the castle, but every route was blocked by Voldemort's followers. We were just getting to the edge of the wards when we found Rudi being… touched by a couple of overweight Death Eaters" and Dean was not the only one who felt anger at that.

"I hope you dealt with them" Jadu said.

"Me and Seamus cut them in half – literally" Dean smiled faintly. "We scooped her up and made a run for the gates, found ourselves Ben Sherman and then got the hell out of Dodge" and the effects of the Pepper Up were already beginning to wear off. Seconds later, he was completely out of it and unable to answer questions.

"Ruby? Enid? Go back with these four back to the house and tell Drill or Bat what is going on. they need medical attention. Dobby should be able to sort that out quickly enough. Tell the younger girls to go through the house and find Kreacher and stun him. For all I know, he could be passing on information" and the two girls nodded before taking two people each and vanishing via portkey.

"Well onto the next target" said Ethel.

#

The other houses looked secure enough, and the group never made their presence known to the occupants. It was better that they didn't know Harry had been near to them for their own safety. They returned back to Grimmauld Place to find an angry Miss Drill, a couple of charred people getting medical aid and a four way punch up between Kreacher and Dobby and two girls – one of whom had jumped Dobby earlier that day. It seemed as if Kreacher was not going quietly, and so Harry decided to try some thing little different.

"Kreacher, this is important. What is actually going on is we're playing a very hard game. Now I know you've been going to Albus Dumbledore. The thing is that he is cheating everybody, so we need to know whatever you have said to him since we've been here. If you tell me what it is, then I will make sure that your head goes on the wall with the other good Elves" and Kreacher went wide eyed before telling Harry everything that he had told Dumbledore and Voldemort.

"What are we going to do?" asked Mildred after the elf had finished talking.

"This" Harry said. "Kreacher, this is a direct order that nobody else can contradict. You are to remain in your cupboard until I say otherwise. You are forbidden from speaking to anybody except those in this building at the moment. You are forbidden to kill yourself. Do you understand me?" he asked.

"Yes, Master" Kreacher said.

"Then go…" and with that the elf vanished.

#

"Now that you are sorted out, Harry, would you mind telling me exactly where you went?" asked Miss Drill.

"I went out for a little walk" Harry replied. "As luck would happen, I came upon some old friends in a burning house and so I decided to put them up here for a while" he watched as Drill couldn't understand the boy at all.

"You could have been killed" she said.

"I could, but I wasn't. Besides, they nearly died in that house, and nobody would have known they had died" Harry said. "It is my duty to save everyone – so don't go lecturing me about the rights and wrongs of what I did just now. I have been fighting this war a lot longer then you have, Miss Drill. Could I have done things differently? Yes, I suppose I could well have. But I have managed to save the lives of people I like, so that is that" and Harry turned and stormed away from a shaken Miss Drill. She was under the impression she was just three seconds from being smited by the boy. She considered the fact that he had seen more death then anybody ever had a right to at his age, and there was also the fact he might still be angry over Hermione's death. She made up her mind to speak to him in a few days when he was in a much calmer mood.

#

Voldemort was not in a good mood at all. His primary objective had been completed, but the secondary target had not been. Harry Potter had managed to escape with those Witches he had been training with, and the Dark Lord didn't know where he was.

"Potter's shields are vastly improved" he muttered.

"My Lord…?" Malfoy ventured.

"It is of no matter, Lucius" Voldemort said. "Continue your report" he said with a wave of his bone like hand.

"Yes, Master" the elder Malfoy said. As he listened to Lucius talk about new recruits to the Death Eaters, Voldemort wondered what had happened to his carefully laid out plan. The kidnap of the Hubble girl and the Grainger mudblood had only served to infuriate Harry, and the subsequent death of the Grainger girl had made him madder then ever before. Those Order members dressed as his Death Eaters had reported having been sealed inside the cave, and they all agreed it was Potter that had sealed them in. It was only because they had blasted their way out that they were able to tell their tale to Dumbledore and Voldemort. The girls he had arrived with were the same ones who had been alongside him during the fight at Cackles, and the surviving Death Eaters had been adamant that they had seemed to be more powerful then witches they were used to fighting. Had Agatha Cackle taken the castle with the pupils still inside, then it would have been a simple matter to just charm the girls or drug them into doing his work for him. With an army of them, he would have been unstoppable – even to Harry Potter. In the meantime, he had nearly a castle full of children that he could charm into doing his bidding, and the prettier ones could be used to make the next generation of his followers. There was the upcoming battle he was sure to have with Potter and his followers, but the Dark Lord was confident that he could defeat him and all those who stood with the blood traitor.

"Lucius…" he hissed.

"My Lord…?"

"Take all of our finest fighters tonight and raid Diagon Alley. Have them dress in Auror robes. Make sure that they attack people but do _NOT_ kill anybody or anything. Do as much damage as possible towards the shops there, but make it look as if Potter's side did this in revenge for his death" the Dark Lord ordered.

"But we have not yet killed him" the eldest Malfoy was confused by the order.

"You fool!" Voldemort hissed. "If they think it is those that stood with him, then support for their pitiful group will vanish. The brat will then be forced to make a move quickly towards me, and he shall be defeated" and the other man smiled and nodded.

"My Master is indeed wise…" he slimed.

"And that is why I am in charge here, and not you, Lucius. Now go about your other business and find out which bastard stole my coffee and morning paper!" and Voldemort sent Malfoy senior off on another dangerous mission.

#

"Harry?" Mildred pushed the door to his room open slowly. If the door was opened and it creaked or made some other loud noise, he had been known to started firing spells off at a rapid rate.

"Mmm…?" came the reply.

"I heard what went on with Drill earlier" Mildred closed the door and put the special lock on it. Only herself, Harry or the other girls in their close friendship could cast the correct password spell to gain entry to the bedroom.

"I should think everyone in the house heard it" Harry chuckled lightly. Mildred crossed over to the bed Harry was laying on and sat down next to him. After a moment's hesitation, the girl put an arm around the tensed up friend of her's, and she just sat there and waited until Harry was going to talk.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked after a while.

"I honestly don't know" Harry said glumly. "We can't expect help from anyone outside the country. There are only a few days that we can hold out before we either die or live" he added.

"Only a few days…?"

"Voldemort is moving at an extraordinary rate" Harry said, "And he knows that he can keep pushing until I'm forced to do something. At the rate he moves, we have about a week or two at the very most. We're out powered, out gunned, out numbered… everything says that we're finished. But I have to pull something out of the bag – I have to! And I have to do this alone…" and Mildred gave a gentle squeeze of the arm around Harry.

"Harry, you do not have to do this alone" she spoke quietly. "I will be by your side when the time comes to fight Voldemort"

"And so will we…" said Enid from the doorway. She was stood watching with the others and they moved over to sit in the chairs that always appeared in the room when they entered. They supposed Harry had charmed them to do so.

"Harry, you have had to fight every final battle by yourself" said Maud. "But this time we will stand by you whatever happens" and Harry gave a weak smile.

"It could be a bloody one" he said.

"Aren't they all?" asked Ruby. "Besides… I have a score to settle with a few people" she added ruefully.

"If Voldemort wins, then I'll be discriminated because of my heritage" Jadu said. "I'd rather die on my feet then bow to Voldemort and his lot".

"Harry, we all believe in you" said Enid. "We would all die if it would keep you safe" and Harry shook his head slowly.

"I wouldn't want that – you know that. But… thank you anyway" he said. He looked into the eyes of each girl, and he could tell that they meant every word they said. They trusted Harry to do the job of ridding the world of Voldemort and his evil followers. "I think we need to start making plans" Harry said, and as Enid made a table appear, plans appeared from the many folders that lined the walls of Harry's room. They sequestered themselves in the room for several long hours, and most of the time was spent coming up with a plan of attack for the Ministry. The other time was spent by the girls showing _exactly_ how much they liked Harry.

# # # # #

"You…" Harry pointed at a passing first year. "Go find Miss Drill, Miss Bat, Fenella, Griselda, Ethel and Drusilla. Tell them to meet me in the library as soon as they can" and the small girl ran off to carry out her task. Minutes later and everybody arrived for the last meeting before hell broke loose.

# # # # #

"Thank you for coming" Harry said as Ethel closed the door. It was almost like they were meeting to discuss a matter of policy.

"Your summons sounded very urgent" said Miss Bat.

"It is, Miss" said Mildred. "We've decided to take on Voldemort and, hopefully, beat him and his forces" and Miss Bat looked for a cupboard to run to. Harry had had them removed by Dobby a few minutes before.

"But you are a bunch of witches" said Miss Drill. "We should contact the Wizards – they should know what to do" and Harry laughed at the mistake Drill had made.

"Funny" he said, "Only I thought I was a wizard this morning"

"You know what I mean" said Miss Drill. "The fact is Voldemort is a fully grown and trained wizard. He has many more people willing to fight for him. Now I am not magical, so I can not speak much on magical power. However it seems to me as if it would be suicide" and Miss Bat nodded.

"I have to agree with Imogen" she said. "Perhaps he will forget about us all if we hide for long enough" but Maud shook her head sadly.

"No matter how long it will take him, Voldemort will come for us one day. He would kill everybody who is not his follower if it got him closer to Harry" and Ethel broke into the discussion before Bat or Drill could say another word.

"What is the plan?" she asked.

"We broadcast a message on the radio. We get the students to raise trouble in the castle. Even if it is for a few minutes, Voldemort will send most of his people to Hogwarts which leaves the Ministry only lightly defended. We get in there and fight our way through to the lower reaches of the place were all the magical controls are made" Harry said.

"Our aim is to get there and shut down every means of magical transportation" said Mildred. "Once we've done that, we'll adjust it so only magical signatures are allowable for movement"

"But would not Voldemort know what you are doing and go to Hogwarts himself?" asked Griselda.

"That's what we're counting on" said Ruby. "Him and Dumbledore will put every enchantment possible around the castle to stop us from getting in. The same goes for the magical passages under the school. Now Harry thinks he could break them down, but it would exhaust his magical core too low for him to fight" and Drusilla looked puzzled.

"So how do you expect to get inside?" she asked.

"We fly in through the protections" said Jadu.

"But I thought you said that you couldn't get in because of the magical protections…?" mused Fenella.

"Whoever said" Maud commented, "That we would be flying in on brooms" and the ones not in on the plan couldn't figure out what she meant by that, although it appeared Fenella and Griselda had some inkling.

"So what did you want to meet us for?" asked Miss Bat.

"We are going to take prisoners" said Enid. "So we need to guard them"

"That's where you come in" said Ruby.

"We'll be transporting them to here" Harry said. "Once they've arrived, you have to take them down to the basement that has been magically expanded to become a large prison" and the others looked at each of them in turn. There was a long and pregnant pause before Mildred spoke.

"By this time tomorrow, the magical world will either be free or be enslaved for a very, very long time" she said.

**A/N:**

**First of all, I would like to say sorry this has been a little bit late, but I wanted to ground Children In Charge 3 plot-wise before I resumed work on this.**

**Thanks for the best wishes from everyone, and I did indeed have a very good time on my little trip. It was the first trip to run from the NRM (National Railway Museum) for over 20 years, so you just knew I wasn't going to miss that! Not only was it that, but I took the ride behind an actual STEAM ENGINE! 75 MPH running on the mainline on the East Coast Mainline, head out of the carriage window, getting covered in ash and soot, coming back in the dark... The Author had an extremely good time as you can all guess! Anybody who has travelled on a preserved railway, or gone on a special trip will know the thrill of what I mean. The best moment was pulling into Shildon station, and all of the museum engines blowing their horns and whistles as the train came in with whistle going like hell and steam swirling around. In a connection to this story, the locomotive I was pulled behind was 5598 – Orton Hall… better known to some as Hogwarts Castle! Arrival back at York was not until 20:10 (8:10pm) and then I had a good two hour wait for my train back to Hull which ensured that Pixel never got home until 01:10 (1:10am) on the Sunday morning! As soon as I get pictures done, I shall post them on fotopic and post the link on the homepage.**

**Oh… sorry! I seemed to gone off on a tangent there!**

**I must admit to being a little stuck on the battle of the Ministry, so I am in need of a little help. Would anybody like to write part of the next chapter? I know there are a few of you out there that are good writers such as joemjackson, The Submaruder and XRaiderV17 who spring to mind. However, if anybody would like to write some of the chapter, then put your names forward and I shall decide.**

**Now, a little bit of news for you all. Once a year, a magical event happens to me that I eagerly await. On October 7****th****, ITS MY BIRTHDAY! This year, could somebody write me even a little one shot please? I've only ever had one fic dedicated to me before, so if you could… it doesn't have to be an entire story, just a one shot involving the following items:- A banana, Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood, the Room of Requirements and a green and white stripped bra appearing on Snape's head at breakfast. Surely you lot can put your heads together to come up with something for Friday! It is my birthday after all… On the day before, I shall release a HP One Shot, two chapters of Children in Charge 3 and maybe – just maybe – a couple of un expected surprises too! So if you could give me that fic as a present, I'd be one happy little Pixel And Stephanie…**

**Reviews by Post Owl only,**

**Pixel And Stephanie **

**.com/video/mkwgmkwyjepum**


	14. I See Dead People

**I See Dead People**

"I'll see you in a while" Mildred said as she closed the door to Harry's room. He waited for the footsteps to go before stretching and sighing.

"She really loves you" Hermione said from the windowsill.

"Does she?" Harry asked in mock amazement. "I really couldn't tell" and Hermione laughed.

"You and her will make a lovely couple… well her and the other girls" Hermione crossed from the window to the armchair that was by the bookshelf.

"I think they all want a bit of the old Potter magic" Harry looked over at his friend.

"Yes… I knew that the moment I saw Mildred with a goofy smile on her face, and her walking around with a slight limp" Hermione shook her head with a smile.

"I'm just worried about putting people into a danger that is not theirs" Harry said, then busied himself with pouring two glasses of Firewhiskey. He pushed one towards Hermione who knocked it back with ease.

"You didn't start this war" she pointed out, and accepted a second glass from Harry.

"No, but I have to be the one to finish it. Enid came up with an interesting point, by the way. Now the prophecy says that I have to kill Voldemort, right?" and Hermione nodded in agreement – the evening light catching her chestnut coloured hair and making it radiate.

"Yes"

"But taking the life of another is against the law. So if I kill Voldemort, then I'm carted off to Azkaban for the rest of my natural. On the other hand of course, if I just run away from this country, then Voldemort wins by default" Harry knocked back his glass of whiskey and slammed the glass on the bedroom desk. "It ain't fair" he said.

"Life is seldom fair, Harry" Hermione said. "I mean if life was fair, then the Dursleys would have been punished for what they did to you a long time ago. But if you look at it this way, then defeating Voldemort means a new start for you" and her friend chuckled lightly.

"Now we're alone, what do you really think of the plan?" he asked Hermione.

"Taking the Ministry is not going to be as hard as taking Hogwarts. The castle is laced with booby traps and ancient defence systems. And with the protections added by both Dumbledore and Voldemort… you could be facing a fight of a day or two – if it isn't taken in a few hours" Hermione said, a little sizzled by the Firewhiskey inside her.

"What about our entry method?" Harry asked.

"Well I seriously doubt Dumbledore and Voldemort will be expecting at least one aircraft to come whizzing through the boundaries of the school. They think that muggle technology won't work around the castle and the grounds, so you should be able to make good your landing" Hermione frowned. "What plane _are_ you using?" she asked.

"We're using a Dakota" Harry said. "It's got so few electrical parts that it is perfect. And we'll only need the electrical parts during take off. I was planning on dropping the wheels a couple of miles away. I was thinking of working up the Great Lake, and that'll give me enough time to set the bird down on the deck" and Hermione beamed with a mixture of pride and alcohol.

"You've really got that plan down to a fine art. I see I have trained you well, Mr Potter" and the pair laughed together.

"Well on the possibility that I manage to kill Voldemort and live, I've applied for a place at Weirdsister College" Harry said. "Maud got an extra form for me when she got hers. I'm going to study Magical Theory, Creative Spell Work, Advanced Dark Arts Defence, Advanced Potions and Magical Combat. We get to choose a sixth one after the Christmas Holidays. The girls have all gone for the same options as I have, but it seems as if Enid is going to have to work on her singing" he finished with a smile.

"Why?" asked Hermione with concern.

"You know what the new students at a University do…" Harry said with a giggle, and poured himself and Hermione doubles.

"Ah" Hermione nodded knowingly. "What is she planning on doing?" she asked.

"I think she said her father is getting her some lessons during the summer, but there's no need for that expense. Maud, Mildred and me have come up with a potion that will make the user a good singer. We're not talking like Shirley Bassey or Kyle Mynogue, but a good singer nonetheless. I know that sort of goes against the whole point of using magic for trivial reasons, but that limitation doesn't seem to apply to me as you know. They want to run a few tests when I get to Weirdsisters to test me. They have this thing called the Bus Stop, and it involves them having to do no magic during a Friday. Something about doing a large secrecy spell around the place…" and Hermione nodded.

"And they want to know if you would be able to cast magic whilst this spell is active" she finished. Harry nodded and leaned back in his chair.

"I certainly have a lot of power" he pointed out. "Remember Pomfrey examining us after the Department of Mysteries battle? Her magical scale was off the roof for the pair of us if you remember. According to her, we were the two most powerful people she had ever examined in her entire career. If I remember rightly, then she thought we might be as powerful as Voldemort and Dumbledore" and Hermione shook her head sadly.

"_You_ are the most powerful person" she pointed out. Hermione looked out the window at the sun as it dropped below the level of the house opposite. "I wish I could be with you tomorrow" and she knocked back the last of her whiskey.

"You are not the only one" Harry told her with all seriousness. "I'm sure you would have come up with a plan of attack that wouldn't fail us. Once we've landed on the ground at Hogwarts then I'm pretty much winging it…"

"A wise man once said that you have to break the rules, forget plans and do the right thing" Hermione said, and Harry struggled to think who it was.

"I'm not sure who said that" he admitted.

"You did" Hermione said, reminding him of a talk they had back in their first year at Hogwarts.

"I still could do with your smarts on this" Harry said.

"Just my smarts…?" Hermione raised one eyebrow.

"Well…" Harry knew he could get away with the reply since she had asked him, "I rather liked your arse and tits. Always wanted to get a good feel of them!" and there was a pause before the pair of them snorted loudly and creased into fits of laughter.

"Well I always liked the size of your package" Hermione said right back at him. "I paid good money for an image of it after you had come out of the lake during the Tri-Wizard" and the two friends laughed and talked more and more dirtily as they went through the bottle.

"Harry…?" Mildred spoke as she saw Harry rolling about on the floor in laughter. She had heard him speaking as she opened the door.

"I'm alright, I'm alright. I was told a great joke about Dumbledore by Herm…" Harry fell silent as he stood up and saw that the other chair in the room was empty, and that no glass, other then his own, had been used. "Never mind" he muttered sadly.

**A/N:**

**Something I always wanted to do in this fic since the begining. At some point in our lives, we have a long talk with a person long dead or just with ourselves. In this case, Harry was talking to Hermione in his mind, and Mildred's return disturbed him from that**.

**A little short I know, but I had a sort of family emergency on Sunday, so that was eating into my time as I had to go back and forth to the Hospital because my Mother was taken in on Sunday evening. She is okay (nothing serious) but she has to stay in for a while.**

**I promise to get you back to a normal schedule sometime next week or two. There is a vote on my page for you to vote on, and I can guess which is the clear fan favourite! **

**Regards**

**Robert**


	15. Opening Gambit

**Opening Gambit**

Everything was set for the opening moves in the morning, and everyone was having an early night. The only people not in bed were Harry and his girlfriends. They were spending time in the house doing what they wanted, and some of them had gone into the cellar and got some of the Firewhiskey that had been there since the last time Sirius had stocked up before his death. Even though Harry was the only one who could really drink, if they were going to do tomorrow, then deserved to do what they wanted the night before. A few others were busy in the kitchen making a few more potions which might be needed for the assault team on the Ministry. Several copies of the plan had been posted around the house.

Once the Ministry had been secured, Fenella and Griselda would come with a number of the more powerful older witches and keep guard. Harry and the girls would then depart for Heathrow airport using muggle means to board their aircraft and fly directly to Hogwarts. Once they could see the castle, Harry would swing the plane round so he could work up the great lake, drop the wheels before they passed the suppression field around the castle and set the Dakota on the ground. While they had the element of surprise, they would jump out of the machine, start attacking the Death Eaters. They would get under the ground and work their way to the castle that way. Once inside, the aim would be to free the members of whichever house was the closest. Once Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had been freed, then there would be a systematic defence set up of the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor towers. This would also allow them to take shots at reinforcements for Voldemort and Dumbledore's joint forces.

"I was thinking of getting an early night" said Maud. "We have somewhat of a busy day ahead of us tomorrow" she added.

"Aye" said Harry from his armchair. "That we do. I just hope that we can all get throu…" he was cut off by a loud scream.

"What the hell…?" Mildred looked wildly around the room for trouble. Harry had shot up and grabbed his wand and was out of the study door like a flash. He looked around the living room, dining room, kitchen and the pantry but found nothing. He followed the sounds of screaming to the library and he found a quivering girl pointing at the closed door.

"There's a werewolf in there!" the girl said. "Bryony is in there with it. It's got her trapped! I tried to get her out of there, but the thing was too scary for me" she sobbed. Harry listened for a moment and heard another girl's screams mixed with growls from a werewolf. He wasn't sure how one of them had got into the house, but he assumed that Kreacher had somehow given away the location to Narcissa Malfoy whom had passed it to Voldemort. The Dark Lord would have sent a werewolf in to do as much damage as possible to the occupants of the house. Harry looked back to see his girlfriends running up.

"A werewolf somehow got inside" he told them. "I'll deal with it, but someone called Bryony is trapped in there. Get ready to sort her injuries out if she has them, and just comfort her – she'll be shaken after this you know" Harry heard the acknowledgements as others arrived to find out the source of the noise. Opening the door quietly, Harry slipped into the library and closed it behind him. At one end of the room was a medium sized werewolf with a terrified and screaming girl frozen by the window.

"HELP ME!" she screamed when she saw Harry.

"Listen to me" he told her. "When I get the thing's attention, you ran as fast as you can for the door and don't look back" and through the tears the girl nodded in understanding. Taking careful aim because of the closeness of the werewolf from Bryony, Harry sent out a stinging hex which caused the wolf to snarl and spin round to face him. "NOW!" shouted Harry, and Bryony raced for the door which she slammed behind her. "Okay, beastie, time to say goodnight" and Harry was about to hit it with either the Killing Curse or simply behead it when he suddenly realised something. The werewolf had not harmed Bryony in any way, it hadn't gone for Harry when he hit it with the Stinging Hex and actually seemed to be struggling with itself. He wondered if this was Remus Lupin when he spotted something round the neck of the beast – a golden necklace. "Who are you?" he murmured. Harry put out his hand and the wolf nudged it with its snort once then backed away slightly.

"Are you alright in there?" Jadu called through the door.

"Yeah… just dealing with something" Harry shouted back. "Don't come in for a while" he added, then looked closely at the necklace that was hanging broken from the wolf's neck. "R…U…D…I…" and with that, he instantly knew what the situation was. "Can somebody run up to the room Rudi Dykes is in and get me a pair of her pyjamas?" he asked.

"What?" asked Mildred.

"I just need them now" Harry said, and within a few minutes, a set of blood red cotton pyjamas sat on a table in the library. "Hold very still…" he told the werewolf, and he pointed his wand at it and began chanting a lot of spells. A golden glow surrounded the werewolf before it convulsed in pain and twisted and turned slowly into a human being once more.

"I'm so sorrrrryyyyy!" Rudi sobbed as she flung her naked self into Harry's opened arms. "I didn't know when to tell you. I thought you was going to kill me" she cried into his chest.

"I very nearly did, but then I saw that necklace you was wearing" Harry hugged her tightly. He felt the shakes coming from the girl as she sobbed and sobbed. When she seemed a little better, he handed her the nightwear which she slipped on quickly before Harry allowed her to jump up into his lap. Rudi buried herself into Harry for comfort with her arms around him as the pair sat in the biggest and most comfortable squishy armchair.

"I'll find someplace else to lie" Rudi promised Harry. "Or you could… get rid of me" she added after a pause. "I know how much werewolves are dangerous, and nobody likes them at the moment" she looked on the verge of tears again.

"I would never harm you, Rudi. I might seem a little frightening, but I promise that I'm not going to kill you. You are no more dangerous then I am" he added.

"But I'm a werewolf" she sobbed.

"So?" Harry shrugged. "I don't care what you are, so long as you are a good person" but Rudi shook her head.

"I know I am dangerous, and I could hurt or even kill people because of what I am. I could even give them the same curse. You should kill me with a silver knife. I'M A FREAK!" she burst into fresh sets of crying again. Harry stroked her long, black hair as he made shushing noises to calm the frightened girl down once more.

"Did you ask to become a werewolf?" Harry asked.

"No" Rudi sniffed through a couple of tears.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Harry asked. "You know that I do not judge people unfairly on heresy, I judge them on what I see and hear them do" and there was a pause before Rudi began her tale.

"I was playing outside one day when I was four years old" she started. "My mummy had gone inside to get me something to drink when a wolf jumped over the fence. I thought it was a big friendly dog, so I put my hand out to stroke it, and it bit me badly on my arm – all the way to my elbow. My daddy heard my screams and he rushed out and killed it. I was taken to St Mungo's, and that's when they told me I was a werewolf. Nobody ever wanted me to be their friend once they knew about my… 'condition', and everybody hated me when I started Hogwarts. I thought that it would be a great new start, but it was the same sort of story. The only one that ever spoke to me was called Luna. I think that was her name anyway. Professor Dumbledore came to see me one day and explained that they had things to deal with people cursed like me, and that I could still go to the school if I wanted. Everyday after lessons, and during any free time I had, I would look up stuff in the library to see if there was a cure for my cursed life" Harry noticed that Rudi seemed to get calmer as she told her story. "Even with that nice girl, people still hated me and I would get bullied a lot. I found out my parents were killed by Voldemort at the Ministry, and then I was… set upon by a couple of very bad people. Then some Gryffindors came to save me and they took me to that nice place" Harry stroked her hair a few more times and looked down at the girl who was still nestled in his lap.

"I know you are not evil, I know you didn't mean to scare Bryony and the rest and you seem a good person to me" Harry told Rudi. "You've had one hell of an unhappy life" and then an idea hit him. "Once all this fighting is done, would you like to go to Cackle's instead of Hogwarts?" he asked her. "Nobody will be bothered if you are a werewolf there, and I am sure that you'll make lots of friends. The staff are very nice, caring and understanding, and they should be able to accommodate your special need" Harry added.

"Do you mean it?" Rudi asked. She felt a lot better with Harry's arms around her, and if she could go to the same place that had taken him in…

"I will have to speak to Miss Bat and Miss Drill about it later, but I don't think that anybody will have an objection" Harry said to her gently. "We'd have to ask Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom about it as well, but I am sure Miss Cackle will accept you into the school" but Rudi didn't reply. Harry was concerned until he looked down and saw the girl had cried and tired herself to sleep in his lap.

#

"That poor girl" Enid said when Harry told them everything. The group had been surprised when Harry had walked out with a sleeping Rudi in his arms. He had carried her all the way to bed before tucking her in safely.

"Losing your parents is bad enough, I know" Ruby spoke from experience. "But to lose both of them and be a werewolf…"

"I went through most of my life so far being called a freak" Harry said bitterly, "And I refuse to hear that being said of a girl whose innocence was ripped from her by a foul being" he had to stop and take a few deep breaths before he lost the plot and flipped.

"What will you do?" asked Mildred.

"I'll see about any money and property that her parents left her. If they've been stolen and are unrecoverable, then I'll just give her some of mine. I don't need all of it after all" Harry replied.

"Should we go to bed?" asked Jadu.

"If we do" Maud said dryly, "Then I suspect Harry wont have enough strength to hold his wand" and there was a long pause before they all snorted with laughter at Maud's rare trip into blue humour. They waited around and talked about things that didn't matter until Harry was seen to have a far off smile and look.

"Something the matter?" asked Enid.

"I was thinking that any plan Voldemort thinks we're doing will be done during daylight. I'll give him one thing:- he leaves things alone for the most part. We know that the Ministry is operating under standard conditions. If we broadcast on top of the WWN, then we can raise a rebellion now at Hogwarts instead of later. Voldemort will order more of his Death Eaters to the school, and as the Ministry is running on the night shift…" he smiled as the others picked up the idea.

"Enid, Ruby. Get down to the comm room and get ready to broadcast. Somebody get Fenella and Griselda up and ready. If we make our move now, then we can get control now. Jadu, get yourself sorted, then get the tube to Heathrow and file our departure plans. After that, we'll get to each of the remaining safehouses and grab as many as we can fit into that plane. Thank god I thought to have it magically expanded" Harry said.

"But it's the middle of the night" Maud said.

"I know, but if we can move early enough then we can secure the Ministry and cut off most means of magical transportation" Harry replied. "We can cut off Voldemort, his Death Eaters and those members of the Order of the Phoenix still with Dumbledore. Apparition won't work, and neither will Portkeys or the Floo" and the girls got up and started walking towards the door of the study. Quickly and quietly they went around the house and woke up a number of people that could help. Jadu used the shower then dressed in a business suit that Dobby had made a few days before. Harry handed her the folder containing their flight details which she placed in a briefcase.

#

"Powered up and ready to work" Ruby said. She indicated the mic in the broadcast booth. Harry nodded and went inside while the rest of the committee listened by the control desk. He waited for Ruby to indicate the mic was now live on the air.

"Good Morning. I'm Harry Potter, and I am speaking to you from a location in orbit around the planet" that was clearly a lie, but some people would believe it. "I've had enough of the evil that threatens our world. I know that a number of students at Hogwarts will be listening one way or another. I speak directly to you now: raise trouble. Be disobedient and cause as much hassle as you can. I'm coming for you…" and Harry left the mic open as he got up and slammed the door open and shut again. Once Ruby had killed the mic, he left the booth and got ready to start stage two of the attack. While Jadu left for Heathrow, Fenella and Griselda returned from the Ministry to report that they had seen a number of Death Eaters and bent Aurors vanishing to Hogwarts. With that in mind, Harry and the remaining others donned their armour and portkeyed to the Ministry. After they had gone, Fenella and Griselda woke up the rest of the house and told them exactly what was going on, and what needed to happen.

# # # # #

"Name and business" the bored guard asked.

"Harry Potter, and I'm here to liberate the magical half of Britain" Harry smirked. The guard looked up and was hit by four separate stunners. The few others in the atrium turned and drew their wands out. A pitched spell battle started, and Harry and the girls gave a good account.

They stunned or otherwise hit their attackers with immobilising spells before moving forwards and each taking one of the separate corridors leading from the atrium. Death Eaters and Aurors who had sided with Dumbledore and Voldemort came out of hidden lifts and staircases and fired off killing curses without a thought about it. The roar of the floos behind them alerted Harry and the others to the arrival of everybody else who was capable of fighting. The Weasley twins, Oliver Wood, Alicia Spinet, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and others Harry couldn't place by name…all had come without questioning to help him as he had helped them. When the first person on the side of light was killed, Harry gave orders to the party that they could use the killing curse themselves. The massed tide swept forwards like an avenging angel of death, and swept everything away from in front of them. Fires burned and smoke filled the stone passageways as they battled to the main staircase. Harry took the Cackle's students plus the Weasley twins with him as he went down into the bowels of the Ministry. They dispatched the Unspeakables who had sided with Voldemort and Dumbledore, and freed the prisoners they had been keeping. Others came below to take them topside and backto Grimmauld Place for treatment. Harry's small group took a few moments to compose themselves before they headed down a dark and damp corridor to the room that controlled the magical transportation network of the United Kingdom.

# # # # #

"I would like to file a departure and flight plan" Jadu spoke to the duty operations officer. He had been eyeing the girl up for several minutes, and Jadu was sure he was mentally undressing her.

"Let me see" the man took the folder from Jadu, opened it and read the flight plan.

**Aircraft****Type:****Dakota****(**MK IV**)**

**Aircraft Reg: G-GAHY**

**Crew: 4**

**Passengers: 20**

**Departure Point: LHR**

**Destination: HGW**

The rest of the folder contained weather maps and other important information. There was no airport with a three letter code of HGW, but Harry was in a good mood that day and so invented one for Hogwarts. Regardless, there was a compulsion charm on the folder for anybody not keyed to it to accept it at face value and make the right arrnagments.

"I shall phone the aircraft towing team and have them be ready to tow you to a runway" the operations officer said.

"We'll be doing our own taxiing" Jadu said. "We may be a few minutes late for departure, but that is taken care of in the departure clearance. You'll see that we have priority clearance regardless of what time we take off" she added.

"I noticed" the operations officer said. "I'll have something come round to take you to the hanger" and he picked up his phone.

# # # # #

"Have you found the crystals?" Harry asked, keeping an eye on the doorway.

"I think they are behind this door" Enid replied. She opened the door to reveal a small room full of glowing crystals which radiated power. "Bingo" the girl said smugly.

"Now what do we do?" asked Maud. She was looking at the glowing crystals that controlled most magical means of transportation.

"This" Harry aimed his wand and cast a very powerful spell. "_BOMBARDA_!" and the core shattered into millions of tiny pieces which elicited small screams and yelps from the girls and the Weasley twins jump about a mile high.

"So that's stopped everything?" asked Fred.

"Everything except broomstick travel" Harry replied. They sealed the door shut with several powerful charms and then proceeded to move along the rest of the lower levels. They found a couple of holdouts in the dangerous creatures places, but it seemed as if Voldemort and Dumbledore had decided to not run the risk and called everybody that they could up to Hogwarts. The sounds of heavy fighting drifted down through the many floors to their location, and everyone was careful as they made their way up the steps to the main level once more.

"Harry!" Susan Bones called out as soon as she saw him. "There's a bunch of them just up the corridor, but we can't get past them" she added, firing a couple of Jelly Legs in rapid succession.

"What is down there?" asked Mildred.

"The secure holding cells" replied Susan. "We had heard on the WWN that everyone they had captured but not sent to Azkaban was being held in the cells here" and Harry took a peek round a buttress to take stock of the situation, and was hit by fragments of a statue.

"HARRY'S BEEN HIT!" Ruby shouted, and fired a number of curses in the direction of the enemy. The air crackled with the amount of magical energy in the air, and a veritable rainbow of spells crossed from one way to another.

"I'm alright" he said, but blood dripped from a nasty gash in his forehead and cheek. "Is there any other way to get to the cells?" Harry wiped the blood from his cuts.

"No" Susan said. "My Aunt said it was to stop this kind of situation" and Harry groaned.

"Then we'll just have to cut through these bastards" he said in a low voice. "Once they've stopped firing spells, I want those cells taken. I'm going back to the atrium and running the show from there. Once we have most of the Ministry complex, then we'll begin mopping up and dealing with anybody who attacks us" and with that he jumped up and fired a number of wide beamed cutting spells. Anything that got in its way was torn to shreds, and that took care of the Aurors down the corridor.

"Lets go" said Susan, and she, Hannah, Alicia and a number of others charged down the corridor screaming at the top of their voices.

"Fred, George. You stay here and make sure nobody tries to escape" Harry said. "Girls, you're with me" and they split up once more.

"Are you alright… really I mean?" Mildred asked Harry.

"I have a headache the size of Belgium" he replied.

"That's a bad one" Maud said.

"Start getting the wounded treated here or sent back to Grimmauld Place" Harry said.

"And the dead?" Enid asked.

"Leave them for now. Just put them to one side" Harry replied.

#

It took nearly two hours for the Ministry to fall mainly under Harry's complete control, though there was some heavy resistance in isolated parts of the building. Out of the sixty people that had answered the call for help, twelve were killed, the same in severely wounded and seventeen with minor injuries. A small number had seemingly vanished. With his girlfriends surrounding him for protection reasons, Harry walked round the upper levels and saw the damage that had had to be inflicted. Bodies and parts of bodies littered the floors, debris was strewn around and there was an overwhelming smell of death in the air. When he had had enough of the gruesome sights, Harry called a meeting in the damaged Atrium.

"You heard my broadcast earlier, so you know what I must do now. Voldemort and Dumbledore will have holed up at Hogwarts the moment they figured that something was wrong at the Ministry. I have a way in through the protections guarding the castle and its grounds, but this is something that I have to do alone" Harry said. "I am aware that some of you will want to come with me, but understand that this is one fight we may not win. This is most likely going to be a one way trip, so don't volunteer out of sentiment or emotion. If you want to come with me, then I'll take a group of twenty with me. If you want to come with me, then step to the left side of the atrium" Harry watched as they started talking amongst themselves.

"Harry, I'm with you to the end. Lets finish this bastard once and for all" Mildred stepped forwards and stood by him.

"Goes for me too" Enid said, and she moved to be beside Mildred.

"And for us" said Maud, and she and Ruby stepped forwards to stand on Harry's other side. As he had expected, he had more people wanting to join him then could be accommodated in the plane. He picked Susan, Hannah, Alicia and a number of others he knew by sight. He left the Ministry in the care of the Weasley twins. They had instructions to finish securing the building and try to contact those that didn't the call from Harry for whatever reason.

# # # # #

"Where am I?" asked Miss Hardbroom as she awoke.

"Constance?" Miss Drill was by the door. She had just been inside to check on both the comatose witches, but had found no change in either of them.

"Where am I?" Hardbroom repeated.

"You're in London. A place called Grimmauld Place. Its Harry's house, and its where we all fled to after the attack on the school" Drill said.

"Amelia…?" Hardbroom suddenly remembered everything that had been going on when she had encountered her friend's wicked twin sister Agatha.

"She is alive, but she is asleep from the effects of the special magic Agatha used" Driil said.

"No she isn't" Miss Cackle said from her bed. She rose from it to her feet. "I must thank Harry and Mildred for saving us from my sister. Where are th… Imogen? Whatever is the matter?" Miss Cackle dropped right back into her caring mode.

"Harry and some of the girls have gone to fight at the Ministry. Last I heard, they had started to go towards Hogwarts" the PE teacher knew that this was the fight that would end the war.

"They don't have a chance against all of those Death Eaters" said Hardbroom in a quiet voice. "Amelia, we have to go and help them" she added.

"I know, but we'll never reach them in time" the headmistress said.

"I'll take us via my method" Hardbroom said, but was then surprised by Drill shaking her head.

"They've knocked out most means of magical transport" she said. "The only way to travel is via broomstick, and you'll never get to Scotland in time on one of those" and both of the newly awakened women understood the purpose of that. Harry was denying the enemy chance to retreat, regroup or arrange for more forces to be brought in.

"I heard you mention wounded" Miss Cackle said. "How are they getting here?" she asked.

"The only open connection is via the floo from here to the Ministry. Harry and the girls came up with some special crystals that take power from a source other then the Ministry core" Drill repeated what she had been able to pick up from the discussions.

"What about Miss Bat?" enquired Hardbroom.

"Davina is tending to the wounded" Drill said. "I thought she would freak out and find a place to hide, but she seems more level headed then normal" and the woman caught the glance exchanged between the pair of witches.

"I think we should try and get to Hogwarts by any means possible. We shall have to travel via non magical means from London up to Scotland. I only hope that we can get there in time to help…" Cackle started hunting for her clothes.

**A/N:**

**First of all, I know it jumps a lot in this chapter, but after spending a lot of time at hospital and then work, i sat down one evening and just wrote. When I looked, I noticed how many words I had done. Given the time was 03:23, I just decided to call it a day. The next chapter will be much better I promise, and will make much more sense. A new time table of releases is now on my homepage, and the vote is still open until chapter 18.  
><strong>

**Now there is a character I have used in a few of my previous fics, anybody spot her? My old timer reviewers should spot her easily.**

**What do you think of the little secret of the werewolf girl? I had to admit that, even though I was the one writing it, I broke down and cried from sadness. Now if you think that there will be a battle, harry wins and everyone has sex and cake, then think again. That _will_ happen, but there is still a dark secret to be revealed.**

**Regards**

**Robert**

**PS: New HP fic is heading this way...  
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	16. Flight Of The Wild Geese

**Flight Of The Wild Geese**

Jadu was overjoyed to see the group arrive at the hanger, but was concerned when she saw a few of them had took a couple of injuries. While the battle for the Ministry had been going on, she had been busy preparing the plane for take off. Doing it herself was a tough task, so she had recruited a couple of British Airways employees to help her fuel it up. They had refused at first, but when she had shown them a specially written note they had jumped to her every word. They boarded the plane whilst Harry went around and checked the aircraft for his own peace of mind. He climbed inside and shut the rear door and secured the latch tightly.

"Ready" Ruby said. She was sat in the flight engineer's position.

"Okay" Harry said, slipping into the pilot's seat and doing up his harness. Ruby leant into the cockpit and hit both of the engine start switches. The group in the back jumped when the engines gave off a bang and then spluttered into life. A couple of the purebloods thought the thing was going to explode around them.

"Both engines started and running fine" Enid was sat in the co-pilot's seat.

"Okay, lets go through the check list" Harry replied.

"Right" and Ruby and Enid picked up checklists to go through the pre-flight checks.

"Tail wheel?"

"Unlocked"

"Flaps?"

"No flaps"

"Superchargers?"

"Low gear"

"Oil coolers?"

"On"

"That's it" Enid said.

"Mildred, put the radio to 118.945"

"One moment" she called. She spun the dials round until they showed the right frequency.

"Ground, Golf Golf Alpha Hotel Yankee request taxi clearance"

"_Golf__Golf__Alpha__Hotel__Yankee,__Ground.__Clearence__granted_. _Taxi__to__Mike__ – __hold__short__of__November_"

"Taxi to mike – hold short of November. Hotel Yankee" Harry pushed the throttles forward just enough to move the aircraft at a reasonable ground speed.

"_Hotel__Yankee__ – __Ground.__You__are__number__four__in__the__line__up.__You__are__behind__a__pair__of__Speedbirds__and__an__American__heavy_" the voice said.

"Ground – Hotel Yankee. Request priority takeoff" Harry said. "Check your notices" he added.

"_Hotel__Yankee__ – __Ground.__You__are__now__number__one__in__the__line__up.__Taxi__to__the__end__of__Runway__two__niner__and__report__when__ready_" the ground controller said.

"Understood" Harry said, and then eased the Dakota on to a nearby taxiway and around the larger jet aircraft to take up position on the runway. "Okay everybody, make sure you're all strapped in tightly" and then spoke to the ground controller to report his readiness for takeoff.

"_Hotel__Yankee,__you__are__cleared__for__take__off.__Wind__speed__is__One__Fiver__knots.__Caution__wake__turbulence.__Upon__crossing__threshold,__contact__departures__on__118.675_" and Harry copied the instructions before applying take off power. The old aircraft bounded down the runway and took to the air with a graceful rise from the ground. Soon the plane was in the air and on a direct course for Hogwarts. Because Hogwarts didn't appear on a map, Harry and Ruby had plotted its location from the records made of the location of Hogsmeade. As the castle was right next to it, it was easy for them to go around and then work back up the lake.

"Auto pilot on" Harry ordered.

"Auto pilot… engaged" Enid hit the switch. Harry undid the buckles on his harness and went back to speak to those who had wanted to come with him.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, we're on our way to Hogwarts. Now, we've got a couple of hours to do it in, so you can unbuckle your straps and move around a bit if you want. Take a bit of a nap as well. Jadu put some flasks of coffee and tea onboard before we set off, and I think there may be a few cheese sandwiches around here somewhere. There is a toilet onboard at the aft – that's the back for those that don't know what it means. I'm sorry the accommodations are a little sparse, but we had to move before the plane had a floor installed" Harry watched as most of them undid their buckles and stretched out various limbs.

"What time are we going to get to Hogwarts?" asked Susan.

"If we make good progress, then I would say sometime around 6pm" Harry replied. "It depends on the weather, other aircraft and such stuff like that" he added.

"Couldn't we just fly around and shoot at the Death Eaters from the air?" asked Hannah.

"We could, but they would blast this girl to pieces" Harry told her. "We'll only have the element of surprise this one time, so we'll work up the lake and park it about halfway between the castle and the forest. But the problem is if they have their wits about them, and they start shooting the moment they see us all getting out" he added.

"Well I am sure you'll think of something" Susan said. "We expect you to do it" and to her surprise Harry turned round and headed back to the cockpit. "Was it something I said?" she asked Hannah quietly.

#

"My Lord, our people at the Ministry report they are under attack by forces loyal to Potter" said Lucius Malfoy.

"Have every free person portkey there at once" Voldemort hissed.

"We can't, My Lord" Lucius said. "We tried to do that before coming to you, but all magical means of instant travel have been disabled somehow. I think Potter and his mudblood and blood traitor friends have got the Ministry. All we have are brooms" he added.

"He's coming here" Voldemort said. "Potter has to be coming here" and Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"The students and staff that rose up here must have been a distraction to drain the Ministry. If he is indeed coming to Hogwarts, then he will be falling into a deadly trap" and his partner nodded in understanding. What neither of them knew was the method Harry was using to get the group up to Scotland. "We should alert our gate watchers for Harry. I know he will be bringing others with him, and I can only hope that the guards can slow him down enough" Dumbledore added.

"Hope?" Voldemort looked at him with an odd expression.

"Well lets face it Tom, you've got some people that are just with you for the ride..." Dumbledore explained, and then the pair set about increasing all the magical protections around the castle.

#

The plane flew high and fast, and Harry was in the back drinking some coffee. Most of the others had taken the chance for some sleep, but three purebloods looked out of the windows with widened eyes of amazement.

"Harry?" Enid called from the cockpit. "You better get up here fast" and harry bolted down the last dregs of coffee before going forward.

"Whats up?" he asked, looking at the dials and gauges with a close inspection.

"Trouble!" Enid pointed over the nose of the Dakota. In front of them was a wall of huge black clouds, and coming out of them were...

"Dementors" Harry slammed his body into his seat and did his straps up quickly. "Everybody, listen up" he spoke into the intercom. "We've got Dementors coming, so all of you wake up and get strapped in" and he flicked off the auto pilot and grabbed the control yoke for himself. Some of them were flying with the aid of brooms, and he knew then and there that he was facing some Death Eaters or Order members. Spells hit the side of the Dakota, and large dints appeared in the skin of the plane. With no possible means to attack with spells, Harry and Enid worked together to turn the plane towards the Dementors, and flew the plane right through the biggest group of them. The propellers ripped them to shreds, though they became twisted and buckled. The engine power suffered as a result, and the plane started to lose altitude at a rapid rate. Spells continued to be fired upon by the remaining members of the enemy, and several people screamed as a hole appeared near the tail section.

"I don't think we're going to make it" said Maud.

"Neither do I" said harry, attempting to keep the battered old plane in the air for as long as possible. "Mildred, where the flaming hell are we?" he shouted over the intercom.

"_About__20__to__30__miles__south__of__Edinburgh_" came the slightly muffled reply. Harry quickly ran through a number of scenerios in his mind.

"Everybody assume the crash position" he called. "Enid, lower the landing gear and reduce speed. I'm going to put her into a steep dive and turn. Hopefully they will think we're crashing and not bother going after us" and Harry was right, though it did cost them their port engine and some starboard wing.

"We're coming in too fast..." Enid called.

"Forget the gear – we'll belly land it" Harry made a firm decision. They swooped in low over some fields, and the ground rushed up to meet them.

"_Engines__off_" called Maud.

"Standby to abandon the aircraft" Harry said automatically. He kept the nose up as much as possible, but they slammed hard into the ground and left a deep gorge in the soil. Ruby was shot up against her panels and was knocked out. Some of the others suffered from cuts and a couple of broken limbs. The remains of the port engine and the starboard one smoked in the loud silence that followed.

"OUT! OUT! OUT!" Mildred shouted. "EVERYBODY GET OUT" and they carried Ruby from the plane and away from the smouldering aircraft.

"Is everybody here?" Harry looked around and did a quick head count. He was relieved to find that everybody had made it off the plane alive. "We're going to need to do the rest of the trip on foot and by more normal methods" but first they had to find some kind of cover until the night had fallen. Luckily they had passed over some woods a few miles back, so they started off in that direction to recover and wait for the dark after removing the aircraft and all traces of its crash.

#

"Oh crap" said Ethel.

"What's wrong?" asked Drusilla. Ethel replayed the tracker on the plane for her best friend's benefit. It showed the plane Harry and the others had been in going lower and lower until it vanished.

"They're off the grid" she said softly.

"Off the grid?" asked Hardbroom. "What exactly does that mean?" she asked.

"You saw it, Miss" Drusilla replied. "They've gone down…" and both Cackle and Hardbroom went paler then they already were.

"So what do we do now?" asked Griselda.

"We do what Harry said to do. We keep on fighting until we can't" Ethel said. Everybody who was well enough and able to fight gathered themselves together and headed out for Kings Cross. Hardbroom, Cackle and Bat went with them as well, and it was a very strange and mixed group that boarded a train for Dundee.

#

"What time is it?" asked Mildred.

"About half past nine" Susan replied. They had found an old WW2 bunker which they had hidden inside to rest and recover. A few fires lit inside had clusters of the group around them for warmth. Although it was summer, that night was proving to be very cold indeed. Once they had got inside the bunker, some of them created blankets and sleeping bags. Ruby was treated by Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis who both knew magical first aid, and she was feeling a lot better now.

"How on earth are we going to get from here to Hogwarts any?" asked Hannah. "Its at least a hundred miles away" she added.

"Harry said he would get something" Mildred replied.

Harry had ensured that everybody was settled before heading out with Enid to a small village that was an hour's walk away. They had crept around the village and come upon a large land rover parked by the roadside. They both worked silently and quickly to break in and steal it – though the alarm had sounded until a silencing charm had been performed. Harry just stood back and watched as Enid expertly removed the underside of the steering column and hotwired the ignition.

"Where did you learn _that_?" he asked her.

"I got bored during the summer" came the reply. "But Christ didn't I catch hell for it when I got home" Enid chuckled. She drove whilst Harry navigated the way back to the bunker. As luck would have it, there was half a tank of petrol inside it which would get them close to Hogsmede. They would then have to dump it someplace and then get either another vehicle or walk the rest of the way

"You don't suppose that they got capt…" Maud was about to suggest the worst situation possible when they saw two beams of light moving towards them. Moment later it was revealed to be the headlights of their mode of transport. Harry had expanded the inside of it so they could all fit inside. Luckily, Mildred had thought to take the map from the plane as she shouted for everyone to get out, reasoning that they would need to know where they were exactly, and which way to travel onwards. The difficulty would be in getting to Hogwarts after they abandoned the car, and started walking the remainder of the trip.

"If we'd disabled everything _after_ we had got to Hogwarts, then we would be in a far better position" Harry said ruefully.

"Why don't we just take the train?" asked Hannah.

"I doubt the GNER have a service running all stations to Hogsmeade" Harry smiled.

"I meant we could take the Hogwarts Express train" Hannah told him.

"What do you mean?" Harry turned in his seat to look back.

"All of the coaches and the engine are kept in Edinburgh. I know because Susan's Aunt told me about it when I was younger. We could take that and get to Hogsmeade a hell of a lot quicker then by walking" Hannah's comment made sense to everybody there. If they could somehow get a message to those in London to meet them where the engine and rolling stock was kept, then Harry could still carry out his plan of attack. The captured Death Eaters and Order members could be guarded by those too young to fight and the wounded back at Grimmauld Place. There was also those that had been detailed to stay to secure the Ministry after the assault team had left for Hogwarts. Without a working radio of some kind, there was no way short of waiting hours on end for an Owl to go backwards and forwards between them and London that they could communicate with their back up force.

"I know where they are kept" Susan spoke as she woke up fully. We need to get to Haymarket, but I'll get us in the place" and thoughts turned to how to alert the rest of their fellow rebels.

"If they had to travel up using normal methods, then they would get a train to Edinburgh" Mildred said. "We'll have to watch each and every train coming in from London though, but we can't miss anybody off the inbounds" and they drove into the city centre and parked up in the station's car park. They brought a drink each and then took up places around the many platforms and watched as the trains came in.

"What are you doing?" asked Daphne. She was watching Harry as he wrote down the numbers on each of the trains that passed him by. She did think that it was of some great importance

"Train spotting" he replied.

"Oh" Daphne looked at him for a few more seconds before turning to talk to Maud and Enid.

#

"Finally" said Hardbroom. The PA on the train had just announced they were pulling into the station. She and Cackle had been talking for a lot of the journey about getting into Hogsmeade and Hogwarts itself. For most of them it would not be a problem, but Miss Drill was not a magical person at all, and the entire area had a lot of enchantments to prevent non magicals from being near. Being near so much magic had meant that Drill had absorbed some of the surplus from Cackle's – giving her a chance that she could see and get into Hogwarts itself. The PE teacher had carried a long sports bag with her, but refused to say what was inside.

"We should hire a coach or something" Cackle said. "Davina? Is something the matter?" she asked the Chanting teacher.

"I could have sworn I saw Mildred and Harry" Bat said.

"Davina" Hardbroom spoke quietly as they went to the doors at one end of the coach. "They are dead, and they are not coming back short of a very dark spell" but now Drill was saying that she could also see Harry, Mildred and several more of their pupils. Most people went towards either the booking office, buffet, other platforms or the exits. A small group of girls and one boy were heading towards them, coming to a halt just in front of them. The teachers and rest from London just stared in amazement as the boy mock saluted.

"Harry Potter reporting, Ma'am" he addressed Cackle. "My death is at least one hundred years too soon to be reported" and the group explained what had happened after the plane had gone down. "What is the situation with the Ministry?" Harry asked.

"Mopping up is still going on, but mostly it is quiet" said Fenella. "Aurors and some wounded have the place on lockdown mode. All prisoners are being kept in those special magical restraints, put in cells and guarded by those too young to take an active part in the fight" she added.

"Some of the Hit Aurors have gone to take out known Death Eater locations, but otherwise we are everything that is left" Griselda put her piece in.

"Where are we going?" asked Cackle.

"We're taking a car" Harry said. "We're going to take that up as far close to Hogsmeade as possible, and then go the rest of the way on foot" a large greeting occurred as friends reunited with friends. As they travelled onwards, the new arrivals were filled in on the modified plan that they had come up with. They would wait until the evening, and then take an engine and some of the coaches from the Hogwarts Express and run up the magical line to the village. Depending on what the situation was there, they would either attempt to take the village or go round and assault the castle directly. As everybody was tired and aching from what had been going on at the Ministry and the crash of the plane and the escape from its wreckage, they decided to spend the time in a magical building that Enid had spotted on their way in. It was some kind of warehouse that had been abandoned in quite a hurry, and once the land rover was inside it, they large doors were shut and everybody got out. A couple of privacy charms from both Harry and Hardbroom sorted out unwanted guests for a while, and the rubbish and debris was gathered together and burned to make a fire for tea. An office was used to create a map of Hogsmeade and the route up to Hogwarts, and it was all drawn by Mildred and Dean from memories supplied by Harry. One advantage of the delay was that Voldemort and Dumbledore assumed that Harry had chickened out of the attack, and most of their forces had been stood down and returned to fighting the students and staff.

That would prove to be a disastrous mistake for them.


	17. The Evil Falls

**The Evil Falls**

Harry, his girls, the teachers, Ethel, Drusilla, Fenella, Griselda, and a few of the Hogwarts students stood around the map in the office. The map was spread over the entire surface of the large desk and showed detailed drawings of Hogsmeade, the train station and the castle and grounds of Hogwarts.

"So what do you suggest we do?" asked Enid.

"We have to find out if anything is holding Hogsmeade. Anything we know about it is at least several weeks old by now, but we can make some guesses" Harry pointed to the roads leading to the village. One ran to the forest, one ran to the school and the other to the train station. "Voldemort and Dumbledore are good at this sort of thing, but they are not experienced commanders like I am. Neither of them ever battled tactically before, and they will not be about to start now. I would suggest that they have three person patrols roaming the streets of the village, plus more at the school ready to leave at a moment's notice. Our first objective should be to capture one of the roads leading in and hold it with a strong force. If we have to retreat, then I want to do it quickly but safely. Once that is done, we'll move into the village and capture one of the patrols. We've got some truth serum with us, and one of the prisoners will be made to tell us everything about the defences around Hogwarts" a dark blue glow appeared at each end of the high street.

"I think I see where this is going" said Miss Drill. "Your plan is to sneak around the outer edge of the village and then come in from two sides – sort of a pincer movement" and Harry nodded.

"The problem is that once we are clearly shown to be taking the village, more will come from the castle to support whoever is there" he said. "That's why our remaining group will come up from the road and sweep the side streets of any trouble. Once the village is secured, the girls and I will take a party and probe the wards around the school. Taking the village will be hard enough, but getting through two very experienced people's combined spell work will prove hard" and they watched the map play out the events Harry had described. At the end, a few small dots kept butting up against the line that marked the boundary of the castle grounds. Daphne watched the dots for a moment longer before her mind clicked into gear.

"Maybe we don't have to get through the defences" she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Cackle.

"There are going to be hundreds of Death Eaters, dark creatures, Order members, turncoats and such like. The moment we start to bring down the wards they'll come to meet us" Daphne tapped a small box inside the warded area. "Hogsmeade has a Quality Quidditch on the high street, so if took a couple of brooms from there, than we could fly from the lake edge and all the way around to the boathouse. We grab the boats, bring them back so we can slip inside the wards using something allowed to go through them. They would never dream of an attack from the lake, and we'd be a hell of a lot closer to the castle" and everyone stared at her before Harry kissed her on the cheek.

"That is a bloody good idea, Daph" he said. "But they will have somebody in the window above the main doors. I could take them out from the boathouse, but it would take several shots – giving away the fact we're there" and this was were Drill revealed what was in her long spots bag.

"I think I can handle that" she said with a grim smile, and opened it up fully to reveal a sniper rifle in parts. "I am an excellent marksman, and I have no problem with killing anybody evil like these… _people_" Drill said after a moment, "And they will think you have some kind of special magic that they don't know of. I can also help you take a few people when you assault the village" and Harry nodded and made a note to give her a protection detail.

"If we are going, then it has to be now" Susan said as she looked at her watch. "By the time we get sorted, to Hogsmeade it will be pitch black. That will a great deal as we start our push" she said.

"Right" said Harry. "Get everybody up and in the car" he added as he rolled up the map and put it in its cardboard tube. They set off for the location where the locomotive and coaches of the Hogwarts Express were kept. On the way, several of them looked out the windows to see if they were being followed in any sort of way.

#

"My Lords!" a Death Eater came running into Dumbledore's office. "Potter's friends are on the move. Our house elf spy told us of the elves he has have started moving people from Grimmauld Place to other locations" the Death Eater said.

"A gathering of forces?" Voldemort asked Dumbledore.

"I am not sure" he replied. "It could be that, or they could be getting ready to take some of our camps" the equal partner of the Dark Lord stroked his beard in thought.

"I shall send some of my people to each location as extra help" Voldemort said at last. "They may have taken the Ministry for now, but we will take it back with our superior numbers and then crush anybody who resists. Once we have done that, then we can make plans to take Europe by force" and Voldemort told the Death Eater to send several people to each location along with a few werewolves as back up. Then he and Dumbledore drank brandy and watched as prisoners were executed in the grounds of the castle.

#

It had been a long time since he had last been on the train, but Harry had fallen asleep almost as soon as he sat down on the cushions. The others left the compartment so that he had it to himself, and allowed him to sleep and rest his tired magical core. During the fight for the Ministry, Harry had been near exhaustion point twice, and it was the opinion of everybody that he needed the rest. The train sped onwards to Hogsmeade through the darkness, and some of the group also rested or talked about the upcoming final battle against Voldemort, Dumbledore and their sick followers. They found the trolley full of food and drink, and they shared it out around the train – rationing it carefully. As the train neared its destination, they saw Hogwarts lit up dramatically against the night sky. A couple of the Hogwarts students frowned at the view, and Miss Cackle asked them what the matter was.

"You seem rather bothered by the sight" she added.

"We are" said Susan. "From this angle, you shouldn't be able to see Hogwarts at all. Hogsmeade is in the way of it, but it isn't there at all" and she was right.

"Could he have placed it under a charm?" asked Hannah.

"If that was the case, we would never have been able to speak its name" Daphne observed. "If he know we're coming…" she left the rest unsaid. They sent a message to the engine to stop the train, and they braked hard to a stop – scattering those caught unaware.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, sticking his head around the corner of the vestibule.

"We can't see Hogsmeade, Harry" said Mildred. "According to Daphne and Susan, you should be able to see the place by now" and Harry stared out of the window for his first view of the castle in just short of a year.

"Something is _badly_ wrong" he muttered. "We'll go ahead from here… wands out at all times" and with that they grabbed what they needed, opened carriage doors and jumped down to the trackside. Talking quietly as they walked, they advanced on the position that Hogsmeade shold be.

#

"Professor" Lupin came running into Dumbledore's office. "One of our sentries has spotted smoke coming from a place beyond the train station" and both Dumbledore and Voldemort jumped up from their seats.

"Only one person would be foolish enough to try this" Dumbledore said.

"Potter…" Voldemort hissed. "And just when our defences are lower then they should be" and orders were issued to take a strong force and meet Potter and whoever he was with and kill them all – except Potter himself. "It seems as if we have under estimated Harry Potter" and Dumbledore nodded.

"But that will be for the last time. Once he is dead, we'll show his body to those that resist us" the Headmaster said.

# # # # #

"My god…" Mildred said to Harry's left.

"The entire village…" Harry said. The reason why they could see Hogwarts was because Hogsmeade had been levelled to the ground. All around stood rubble, glass and the blackened remains of wood and bodies. The heavy and overpowering stench of burning, charred flesh and death hung in the air, and a few lost their stomachs to the smell. Voldemort and Dumbledore had gone through the village and killed every man, woman and child who had resisted them.

"We looked round the entire place" Enid said, coming back from a sweep round with Ethel, Drusilla and Miss Drill. "Not a single person survived. We found a few ashes from wands, but not a single Death Eater, Order member or anybody else on their side was killed" she added.

"We'll have to walk to the lake" said Cackle.

"Looks like it is going to rain" said Bat. "A pity we couldn't get underground and wait for it to pass" and Harry's head snapped round at the remark.

"You've got it!" he said. "We've been thinking about going through or over the wards. We can use a secret tunnel from here, go along it and get _inside_ the castle. I used it a few times myself, and I happen to know that it is not on any map except one my dad made years ago when he was a pupil here. We need to find what remains of Honeydukes" and with that he and the Hogwarts students clambered over large piles of stone to reach the remains of the battered and destroyed sweet shop. Given the fact that blackened bodies littered the floor, they had struck when the shop was open for business.

"What are we looking for?" asked Dean.

"This" Harry moved some stone and body parts off a wooden door built into the stone floor. He opened it up to reveal a small cellar underneath. They dropped down and huddled closely into the space. "This cave is going to take us under the ground, under the lake and inside the castle. We'll come out on the third floor, and then that is when the hard work begins" Harry said. With lit torches, Harry and his girlfriends led the way on the final assault on the castle – and the evil inside.

# # # # #

"WHAT?" thundered Voldemort.

"We found the train completely empty, My Lord" said a cowering Death Eater. "We did every trace we could think of, but there was nobody around the train. We did pick up magical signatures that were not ours, but we could not tell which way they went" she said.

"Another diversion?" wondered Dumbledore.

"I don't know" said the Death Eater. "I flew back on a broom to tell you the news quickly. I know I should have stayed with my group, My Lord, but I felt that you needed the information quickly" and with that Voldemort waved her away from the staff table at the great hall.

"I think that we have been had" he said.

"Whatever happens tonight or in weeks to come, we will find Potter and crush him and his group to pieces. Then we shall display his body to everyone as we execute the rest who stand against us" Dumbledore rubbed his hands.

"My Lords" Snape turned in his seat, "I wish to take my leave of you. Truth Serum takes some hours to make, and I wish to prepare enough should we capture anybody tonight" and he was dismissed by both of his masters and headed to his lair of the Hogwarts dungeons. As he walked down, orders were given for forces to pull back from fighting the three houses that openly rebelled.

Little did Voldemort and Dumbledore know it was a terrible and, for them, a costly mistake.

# # # # #

It had taken them about twenty minutes to dart up the tunnel and steps to Hogwarts, and they paused behind a familiar statue so Harry could speak.

"We are on their turf after we pass through here, so be on the alert for anything that seems out of place. I want two teams to go and secure the living quarters of the teaching staff. Another two teams to the guest quarters. I want a team each to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw common rooms, and I want a student from each to go with you" Harry looked at the faces that were eager for battle. "I will take the Gryffindor one with Mildred, Enid and Jadu" he went on. "Miss Cackle's group will sweep the upper floors, and Miss Bat's group will secure the main stairs in the school. Miss Drill and her group will go to the top of the Astronomy tower and take out anybody that tries to get to the castle. As for Miss Hardbroom…" Harry said, turning to face the severe woman.

"You do not have to say a word, Harry. I have been longing to see Professor Snape for quite a time now" she gave off one of her rare smiles.

"I think we should both be there, Constance" Cackle said.

"Fair enough" Harry said. "Fenny, Gris. You two lead Miss Cackle's group instead. Now, once we go through here, don't stop until you reach your objectives. Like it or not, we are soldiers in this war, and the main task of such is to destroy the enemy and come home alive" and he pushed open the statue and they poured out. They split into groups and almost everyone went off to carry out their jobs. A couple of them remained to provide a secured means of getting out should they need to retreat back to the cave.

#

"They've pulled back!" shouted a third year.

"Why would they do that?" asked McGonagall. Her tartan clothing was ripped in a few places, and she had a couple of cuts and bruises all over her body.

"Losses are too great?" suggested Colin Creevy. A couple of creeks could be heard coming from outside, but nobody heard them or otherwise ignored them as a few last spells.

"Or perhaps they like to put us in a false sense of security" said somebody.

"Or even more likely is the fact we just got rid of them once and for all" and everyone in the common room turned round and looked at a raven haired boy with several girls surrounding him defensivly.

"POTTER'S BACK!" the shout went around Gryffindor.

"Harry Potter…" McGonagall rose to her feet and hugged her former pupil warmly. "I never thought I would see you again – in this life at least" she added.

"This has gone on for long enough" Harry said. "I have brought an army comprised of a couple of adults and students from two different schools. We're here to put an end to this once and for all. As we speak, a couple of groups are liberating the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws. We are going to clear this school bit by bit, and finish the job by getting rid of Voldemort. Now then, who's with me?" Harry asked.

"I'm with you" said Colin.

"And me" said another voice.

"Fuck this" said another voice. "I'm with you as well, Harry" and McGonagall was surprised to hear her own voice speak those words.

"Thank you" Harry said. "Now what is the latest SitRep?" he asked.

"Before we kicked off everything to distract them, the Death Eaters kept us confined to our houses. They took our wands away from us, but we got a house elf to retrieve them" said Colin. "The Death eaters, Order members and other traitors keep mainly to the staff and visitor accommodation. They never bothered to patrol the corridors after the third day, and we used the time to sneak down to the kitchens and grab food and drink" he added.

"Do you know who is here out of the Order, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Apart from myself, and I am on your side by the way, I have seen Tonks, Remus Lupin and a couple of others walking around" McGonagall had her injuries attended to by one of the older Gryffindors.

"Any idea in terms of numbers?" asked Enid.

"We think between four and eight hundred people in total" said Lavender Brown, her large eyes filling to the brim with tears of joy at seeing Harry once again. Although they had never been an item, she knew that one way or the other the war was soon going to be over and done with now that he was here.

"What about dark creatures?" asked Maud.

"Once they had the school under their complete control, Voldemort slaughtered them completely. I suspect he didn't want you to try and turn them against him" Lavender replied. "He only has a few giants and a dozen werewolves" she added.

"Well at least that is one thing taken care of" Harry muttered. A loud crack could be heard in the stillness of the night, and the Gryffindors looked around for spell damage as they didn't know about Miss Drill. A few seconds later and a messenger patronus in the shape of an Old English Sheepdog bounded into the room.

"_They__are__getting__into__the__grounds_" Ethel's voice came from the ghostly image. "_They__don__'__t__seem__to__be__any__more__then__a__dozen__or__so__of__them_" it added, waited a few seconds and the evaporated into thin air. Another loud crack signalled the end of another enemy, and Harry turned to face his old head of house.

"You would have to know about the wards and defences around the castle in case Dumbledore was taken ill and couldn't be headmaster for while" he asked.

"Of course" she replied.

"What wards protect this place then?" Mildred asked.

"I can not give those details away" McGonagall said. "They are one of our greatest secrets".

"And if we don't know what they are, then we might all be killed after all we've been through" Harry replied. "If we can gain access to the ward chamber, then we might be able to limit the amount of damage the enemy can do" and McGonagall nodded in resignation.

"Most of the wards are keyed to the current Headteacher, but it might be possible to rig one of the wards to stop anybody else from coming into the castle and grounds" she said after a moment. "The trouble is that Dumbledore will know exactly what I am doing, and send people to stop me" and Harry nodded and turned round to the watching Gryffindors.

"I need six people to go with the Professor and defend her at all costs. The rest of you get sorted quickly and sort yourselves out into fighting groups. First years are to go with Jadu and Ruby to a secret room where you will be completely safe from harm. Millie, Enid, Maud. You're on me. We've got to go and find Voldemort and Dumbledore, but not at the same time or else its curtains for us" and Harry left Gryffindor tower with the three following him closely.

#

"Well that's me out of bullets" Drill said, throwing the gun to one side.

"Take these" said Luna, handing her a number of smoking vials.

"What are these?" Drill asked.

"The magical version of hand grenades" Luna replied, then threw one out of the window. It tumbled to the ground and exploded – sending all kinds of things in every direction. When the smoke cleared, three Death Eaters had vanished and left scraps of robes in their place. "I think we should be able to hold them off for a short while, and then its wands at close quarters" the blond haired girl said, and threw another vial out of the window.

#

"Almost done" Snape said. "Eye of toad, beak of tit…" he chanted.

"… now all I see is a greasy haired shit" Hardbroom finished. She was standing in the doorway to the largest of the potion labs with Cackle.

"Constance?" Snape whispered.

"After all these years you still remember me… I'm touched" Hardbroom replied. "I have waited a long time for this, Severus" she added. "Ever since that incident you blamed me for" and Snape smiled in an evil manner.

"You are nothing but a woman, and women are little better then mudbloods" he said, and then dived as Hardbroom hit him with her own brand of magical attacks.

#

"They are in the castle!" Lupin came running in the great hall. "Potter, those fools from that school and those that escaped from here" he said.

"The time we have been waiting for is here" Dumbledore said.

"Destiny is at hand" Voldemort said. "Call my Death Eaters to arms, and have them kill all but Potter" and the final battle began in earnest for the greatest of prizes.

# # # # #

"What are we waiting for?" asked Drusilla.

"This" said Ethel, and she raised her hands and produced bright sparks which shot down the corridor and hit a number of Death Eaters – jerking them around before they dropped to the ground dead. "Nobody harms my Dru" she muttered.

"More of them coming from behind" somebody shouted, and they turned round and saw cloaked figures running towards them.

"Back down the corridor" shouted Jadu, and she and Neville ushered them towards the corridor junction, and away from getting hit. The others put up a good defence, but they knew that to get the younger kids out of the way completely, somebody had to stay behind as a cover for them and the others.

"Time to bail out" said Neville.

"Get going" said Jadu.

"What do you mean?" asked Drusilla.

"I'm not going - I'm staying" Jadu relied, getting into a better position.

"You can't!" Ethel shouted. "You'll be killed. Its suicide!"

"No" Jadu shot off a spell with her wand which felled several Death Eaters. "A rational transaction – one life for thousands" A quick shield prevented spells from reaching the group, but it wouldn't hold for very long.

"Well…" Drusilla said. "Its been…"

"I know. For me too" Jadu shook hands with friends and former enemies. "Tell Merlin I know it would have been good" she said, allowing tears to run down her face.

"Must be one hell of a school you come from" Neville said, ushering the younger pupils away from the rapidly decreasing shield.

"Not too bad" Jadu smiled as she shook her head. The moment the others had gone, the shield came down and the Death Eaters renewed their attack. Jadu kept firing spell after spell in order to give the others enough time to get the younger ones to safety. But no mater what she did, she grew drained of energy and one of her attackers got in a lucky shot which hit Jadu right in the chest. With a yelp and squeal of surprise, Jadu was picked up and hurled very fast against the wall which she impacted with a sickening crunch of her skull. If that was not enough, the Death Eaters blew a hole right through her chest and back.

# # # # #

"Where's Jadu?" asked Fenella.

"She's… staying behind" said Ethel.

"Right" Griselda knew what she meant. "This is the last group of them. From what we have been hearing from people coming in, the fight appears to be shaping up around the great hall area, the charms corridor and any place Harry is"

"Well I, for one, am going to stand by Harry's side" Ethel said.

"And I am right behind you" said Drusilla loyally. The Hogwarts pupils elected to stay at the Room of Requirement or go to the charms corridor, whilst the Cackle's girls decided to go and find Harry and act as back up.

#

"We have to keep fighting!" Harry said, dragging himself up to an upright position. He had been hit by a jelly legs curse, but Mildred had cancelled it after a second of waving her wand. They could hear the sounds of spells and cries of pain – sometimes cut off in mid scream.

"_CRUCIO_" shouted Maud, and a Death Eater fell to the ground in agony.

"_Sectumsempra_!" Enid used her wand to cut open another, and left him bleeding and groaning in pain on the stone floor. His blood ran in rivers down the corridor, but he was ignored as they stepped over him and pressed home the attack.

"HARRY!" Mildred shouted. Harry was holding his head and his face was screwed up as he underwent a very painful agony.

"Voldemort…" he hissed. "I know where the bastard is – come on!" and with that he charged down the corridor.

#

"Give yourself up, Constance" Snape said. He wasn't panting from the amount of spells he had to produce.

"Never" said Hardbroom, though she was feeling just about the same as he was. Cackle caught Snape on the elbow which put him directly into the path of a tripping spell from her deputy.

"Snape, Cackle and Pop" she said, making a joke even in the face of possible death.

"If you surrender, I am sure the Dark Lord will allow you to live as my slave" Snape said, getting to his feet and quickly knocking down both women with something a sickly yellow. Cackle was seemingly rendered senseless, and Hardbroom was thrown into a pile of broken up wood – the result of over half an hour of fighting.

"I will never serve the dark" Hardbroom gasped with pain as Snape kicked her in the ribs.

"Severus, we need all of the offensive potions you…" a voice that Hardbroom knew well stopped in mid sentence. "So, Constance, you join this group of weak and pathetic fools? I would have liked to have brought you into the Dark Lord's service. You would have made an excellent addition to his forces" Mistress Broomhead walked into the potion classroom and stood over her former pupil.

"You…" Hardbroom looked up in astonishment.

"It is very much I" said Broomhead. "If you do not join the Dark Lord willingly, then I shall have to kill you here and now" and she raised her hand to cast a deadly spell when she was blasted off her feet with an ice white beam.

"Not on my watch you don't" Cackle coughed deeply. "Sodding bitch" and then passed out from exhaustion and pain.

"Looks like I will have to kill you myself" Snape pointed his wand down at Hardbroom who gripped the object in her right hand tightly. Just as Snape was going to touch her indecently before snuffing the life out of her, she swung her arm round and hit him with a chair leg. It collided with the side of Snape's head and sent him stumbling backwards in great pain and a daze.

"YOU NO GOOD BITCH!" Snape bellowed, as blood poured from his freshest injury. He was about to kill her when Hardbroom swung the leg and whacked him in the stomach. She swung it this way and that, and the Deputy Headmistress of Cackle's turned him into a bloody and beaten pulp.

"I have had enough of you and your evil ways" and the battered, bloodied and bruised woman stood over the form of Snape with the chair leg in both hands. "GRADE THIS IN HELL!" and with all of her remaining strength she slammed it through Snape's body and pinned him to the floor – killing him within seconds – but a painful few seconds.

#

"Harry Potter…" Voldemort sat by Dumbledore's right – the place occupied by McGonagall. "What an unpleasant surprise" he said.

"I don't suppose I can get you to come peacefully" Harry asked the pair.

"You assume correctly, Mr Potter" Dumbledore said.

"Most of your followers are dead, dying or injured" Mildred said. The girls from Cackle's flanked Harry on both sides with wands or hands raised. "The others are either fighting overwhelming odds or have otherwise surrendered to us" and Voldemort laughed high and cruelly.

"I am more powerful then any of them" he said. "You have nothing that can defeat me" and then screamed with pain as he was hit by ten identical spells.

"Whats up Tommy boy?" Harry mocked. "Lost a little of yourself?" he asked. "While you've been terrorising the magical part of Britain, the Goblins from Gringotts have gone round the country and destroyed all but two of the remaining Horcruxes. Now there is just you to be dealt … _Stupify_" Harry hit Dumbledore with a heavy stunner – joining several others as well. "…just you to be dealt with" Harry resumed where he had left off. Voldemort was on the floor behind the front desk where the Mirror of Erised had once been, and he trembled as he was touched by the power Harry radiated.

"On the ground and unarmed… I suppose you better kill me now, boy" he leered.

"You know, you are a remarkable person, Tommy… so I suppose I better had" and his wand came down to point over the Dark Lord's heart.

"Now wait, Harry… I could help you to bring your pare…." Voldemort started begging for a mercy he had never shown his victims before.

"For Hermione Granger, for Jadu Wali, for Sirius Black, for all the others you killed and for Lily and James Potter… _AVADA__KEDAVRA_" and with a flash of green light Harry extinguished the life of Tom Riddle. After watching the body slump to the floor, he nearly collapsed with relief and had to be caught by Mildred and Ethel.

"You okay?" asked Ruby.

"I am, Ruby… for the first time since my birth, I am free of both of them" and at that moment a great cheer could be heard throughout the castle.

"What the hell…?" Enid said, and they rushed into the corridor and followed the sounds of the cheering.

"Harry!" Neville came running towards them. "The Death Eaters just dropped down dead. We figured that you just killed Voldemort, and they must have been connected to him via the dark mark" and with that he rushed off to rejoin the masses celebrating the death of Voldemort.

"Its all over…" Mildred went on a hugging tour of her friends.

"Not quite yet" Harry said bitterly. "We have to take stock" he added. "Fenny, Gris. Get the House Elves to transport everybody that is in great need of treatment to St Mungos" Harry spotted Dean and Seamus in the crowd. "Go and find McGonagall, tell her what has happened then get a couple of the old DA to guard those doors. Nobody except myself, the girls or any of the teachers from Cackle's and McGonagall herself is allowed in" he turned to the girls surrounding him. "We need to go and find Cackle and Hardbroom" and they headed off to the dungeons, getting thanks along the way from people overjoyed that the war was over.


	18. But At What Cost Was Our Victory?

**But At What Cost Was Our Victory?**

After the grounds were patrolled for anybody not on the light side, Hogwarts was almost completely evacuated except for those that didn't have anywhere else to go. People went round to take photographs of the damage and the location and positioning of the bodies. The only people still alive from the Death Eaters were those that had been stunned. When Voldemort had been killed, the marks on the Death Eaters' arms burned furiously before they dropped dead – the stunned not being affected by this. The Order members had surrendered soon after, and they were being taken to the Ministry high security cells under heavy guard. Only a handful were free on account they were under the control of spells or potions.

"Where do we go from here?" Mildred asked. She and most of the others from Cackle's stood in the great hall of Hogwarts and watched and heard the cries of the dying and injured. Healers worked as hard as they could, but for some the damage was too great, and Harry had had to order the withholding of pain relief and other treatments from the dying so they had enough for those that _would_ survive.

"I have no idea" replied Miss Bat.

"Where is Harry?" asked Enid as she looked around the hall. They found him in the ante chamber where he had gone after his name had been drawn out of the goblet of fire. It had been turned into a temporary morgue, and bodies lay in neat little rows with covers over them. Harry had been able to keep it together until he saw the mutilated bodies of the first and second years – ripped to pieces by a number of the Werewolves that Voldemort had retained. Out of a morbid and detached curiosity, Harry had looked under a few of the covers and found the children with missing limbs, missing eyes, deep and still bleeding cuts and they were just a bloody mess.

"You don't need to be here" Miss Cackle said gently, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I can't find Jadu" he replied quietly.

"Maybe she is in some other room" Ethel suggested. An Auror was walking past as they came out of the door, and Harry called him over to ask where Jadu was.

"We put her with the others" the Auror replied.

"But she isn't there" Harry pointed back to the room he had just come from.

"Oh" the Auror replied. "You misunderstand me. We have put her with the rest of the Death Eaters and Order members that were killed. She doesn't deserve to be in there with the innocent" and if he had anything else to say, then he was cut off by the simple fact Miss Bat punched him in the jaw.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!" she yelled. "JADU WALI WAS BETTER THEN YOU WILL EVER BE" and then kicked him in the spot between his legs that hurts most men.

"You!" Harry pointed at a Healer. "Where are the dead enemy being put?" he demanded.

"Most are being left were they fell, but some are in the lower transfiguration room" the Healer replied, then left before they could be hit by a curse.

"Alright people" Harry took out his holstered wand and moved towards the giant door to the great hall, "On me" and he stormed out of the hall.

#

The Cackle's contingent got together and went up to the fifth floor to recover Jadu's body. Before they had killed her, the witch-in-training had taken out over three dozen Death Eaters and Order members by herself. Harry bent down and picked the girl up and carried her in his arms down the corridors and stairs – tears running down his face as he very slowly walked - and found Dobby helping out with Kreacher to tend to the wounded. The elf created a beautiful casket out of 200 year old English Oak. Once Jadu was placed inside, each person secured one of the latches before floating it out with them as they headed towards the Hogwarts Express. They uncoupled all but the first two coaches and headed off on the journey to London. A message had been sent informing them that Floo travel was now possible, but only in one direction and from the Ministry. It was the intention of the Cackle's group to return to London and then to Cackle's where Jadu would rest in state. A couple of messages found their way to the group whilst in travel informing them that all resistance from any and all remaining Death Eaters and Order members had ceased in the prison camps, and that a group of Harry-Loyal Aurors had captured the Weasley family as they tried to travel on the muggle ferry to France. Harry was glad that he would find out who killed Hermione as he had a score to settle on that. During the long ride to the capital, there was always somebody sat on a vigil by Jadu's casket. Several hours later, Harry was back in his room at Cackle's Academy. The school had not been touched by the Death Eaters or Dumbledore's people after the attack on it, and a few cleaning spells had it at least free of dust. Agatha's body still lay in Miss Cackle's office, and Hardbroom quietly disposed of it. The repair work took a long time as everybody was exhausted magically, and Harry himself would take a full week to get to his normal magical levels.

"Have you seen Harry Potter?" asked Miss Drill as she walked into the staff room. "I spotted him in his uniform with a satchel over his shoulder.

"We should get his girl friends to have a look" said Cackle, and after a short search, Harry was found to be sat in his normal spot in the Potion Lab. When questioned, Harry replied that he still had a week of school work to do, and that we would like to finish the entire year.

"Mr Potter, the school year is over with. There is no need for you to remain here at all" Hardbroom said.

"Miss, we're wasting precious time… what are we doing today?" Harry asked. Hardbroom was about to reply when the door to the potions lab opened once more.

"Good Morning, Miss Hardbroom" chanted the rest of Harry's year as they filed in. They took their accustomed places and took their potions books out from bags.

"Why are you here?" Hardbroom asked them.

"As Head Girl, I ordered them to lessons" Mildred said. "It seems they didn't have much of a problem with that" she added, and Hardbroom suddenly burst into tears. Despite all of the harshness she had given to them, they still wanted to finish their educations from where it had been left off. Everybody attended, and a place was left to symbolise Jadu's absence. The loss of the Deputy Head Girl was deeply felt by all in the school, and the staff knew that Harry and his girlfriends would be saddened and grieve the most.

"Besides…" Enid said, looking directly at Hardbroom, "How would it look if we botched our final duty?" and the lesson was delayed for another five minutes until Hardbroom was in a fit state to conduct the class.

#

"I was Jadu's friend" said Harry. He was stood by the grave marker which was placed next to Hermione's by the lakeside. "But more then that, I was her boyfriend and her lover. I didn't know her as much as most people here at first, but I always respected her beliefs, her sense of right and wrong, her dedication to see the job done. Jadu Wali, Deputy Head Girl of Cackle's Academy, sacrificed her life to protect the lives of not just her friends, but the lives of those she didn't know at all. She was not expected or told to do so, but it was something that she chose to do. And I will not discuss her profound wisdom at these proceedings. I hope that wherever Jadu finds herself, she is with Hermione and waiting for the day that I meet her once more…" and he lost it and had to be led off by a teary Ruby. After the service, they returned for the wake which was attended by pupils from all years – plus Rudi Dykes. Because of the bullying she got from Hogwarts, Harry had decided to look after her until she was of age and the girl requested that she switch to Cackle's – starting the next school year. She spent her time reading books in what was Drusilla's old room. She now roomed together with her girlfriend and wife to be Ethel, and Cackle couldn't bring herself to say otherwise. Her partner's sister, Sybil, could be seen going over wedding dress designs during breaks and lunches.

#

Cackle was filing in graduation certificates for the pupils leaving that year, and completing their documentation that was to be sent off to what remained of the Witches Guild.

"Oh my…" she said quietly.

"What is the matter?" asked Hardbroom.

"Its Jadu Wali" Cackle said.

"Amelia… you know she is dead" Hardbroom said gently.

"I know, Constance, but her paperwork has been put in this pile" Cackle turned the folder over to her Deputy. The stern woman looked through it silently before retrieving Hermione's folder from the cabinet and picking up two blank forms.

"Forging documents" she said as she filled them both in. "It's a first for me" and Hardbroom gave the lot back to Cackle. Hardbroom had lied for the first time in her professional career and put in the documents that both Hermione Granger and Jadu Wali had graduated Cackles Academy of Witchcraft with high honours, and that both were going on a long expedition and therefore out of contact with everyone – which was true enough. Hardbroom believed that she was telling the truth in that part at least.

#

On the last day at Cackle's, everybody was called to the hall for an important assembly. Harry and Mildred were told to wait until a message was sent for them, so they did a bit of last minute packing to pass the time. All of their trunks had been packed, and with a tap had been magiced away to Grimmauld. They split the time between Hermione's old room and Jadu's, and just stood there in silence and thought of all the good times they had spent together.

"She would have liked to have gone to Weirdsister" Mildred said at last.

"I know…" Harry replied. The room had been cleared of Jadu's things, but they could still smell her scent in the air – though very faintly.

"Do you think we'll see her in the afterlife?" Mildred looked at Harry with sparkles of tears in her eyes.

"One day… not right now, but one day we will…" and they left the room for what they thought would be the last time.

"Mildred Hubble, Harry Potter" a voice called from the air. "We are waiting for you" and Harry and Mildred just nodded in acceptance and walked to the great hall. They walked in to see that everybody was standing up in their assigned places, and the staff stood on the stage along with the Grand Wizard and his old friend Algernon Rowan-Webb. Miss Cackle made a long speech detailing Harry and Mildred's achievements. They, along with their friends were given medals and awards for saving the school and the lives of nearly everybody. Two medals in the box symbolised the absences of Hermione and Jadu. Harry thanked everybody for making him feel so welcome when he had first arrived, and he was sad to be leaving so soon. The staff invited him back as many times as he wanted, and that he was always welcome whatever time he came.

"Once in a purple moon" the grand wizard started, "There is a special young witch who shines above the rest. I have seen this girl trying to fly" and he smiled as he remembered the Halloween incident a lifetime ago. "I have watched this girl at play, and seen how some people treated her" and Ethel and Drusilla looked down at the floor – ashamed at the years of bulling they had given Mildred. "The best witch isn't always top of the tests. A true witch has witchcraft in her at all times, and this is what you have, Mildred Hubble" and he unexpectantly bowed to her – a very great honour from a wizard to a witch according to their older customs and rules.

"A small feast has been put on in the dining hall for everybody" Drill said. They drifted out leaving only the close group and the staff behind, and Mildred ran her finger over the medal that had been pinned to her uniform.

"I don't deserve this" she said.

"Of course you do" said Hardbroom. "You are a hero. I know I was harsh towards you, Mildred, but I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't always think you had potential" and to her surprise Mildred shook her head.

"You're wrong, Miss…" she replied. "Heroes are those that die in battle and I am just somebody who got lucky and lived" and Ruby put an arm around her friend.

"Jadu knew what she was doing" the girl told Mildred. "Same as Hermione knew that she wouldn't make it out of the cave alive. I could tell that she planned to stay in the cave… If you really want to honour them, then we should all exceed at Weirdsister College" and they went to the feast.

"Miss Hubble?" Mildred turned to face the Grand Wizard once more.

"Your Honour?" she started, but the wizard shook his head.

"I should be calling you that" he said. "I had the chance to stop Dumbledore when I knew what he was doing many years ago, but I never realised that opportunity. I wish to apologise for all of the harsh words I spoke to you before, and I don't think you are the worst witch in reality. I misjudged you and misspoke in anger, Miss Hubble. You have great potential, young lady. I see something in you, Mildred Hubble. If you continue in this life as you've begun, then a great future awaits you" he shook her hand and said she was welcome to visit Camelot at any time. All good things must come to an end, and the students left for the task of getting over what had happened to them during the war. They took to their brooms and rose into the sky after one last goodbye to the staff, and hovered over Walker's Gate as they looked back at the castle they had all come to love.

"We'll be back one day" Maud said.

"And on that day, Miss Bat will win Eurovision for the UK" Enid joked, and then as one large wing they turned and headed for the apparition point.

#

Revenge knew no bounds, and the captured Death Eaters, Order members and Aurors were executed by magical firing squads. The Weasleys were each taken and force fed _Veritaserum_ in order to find out who was the person that killed Hermione in the cave. After he was told, Harry set out to build an object in Diagon Alley with the help of the girls. Three days later, a crowd gathered to watch the execution of Ron and Charlie Weasley.

"This is what happens when you cross me" said Harry, and he pushed them up the steps and stood them on the doors on the floor.

"We didn't do it" Ron yelled. "You better let me go, or there will be hell to pay" but Harry simply punched him in the jaw and shoved a handful of coins into Ron's bleeding mouth – breaking a number of teeth.

"Hell is where you are going. Give those to the ferryman" and he pulled the lever. Both Weasleys dropped like stones and dangled on the ropes. Harry watched as both of them had bulging eyes and turned purple as they struggled for air to breathe. It went on for several minutes before they stopped moving, and Harry advanced and cut off their heads and ripped the bodies to pieces with a sword. The other Weasleys, minus Fred and George, were made to watch as part of their punishment for the side they took. Once all of the blood had been drained from the bodies, Harry ordered the bodies cremated and the ashes scattered in the English Channel.

# # # # #

"What do you want to do now?" asked Enid.

"I better go and see her" Harry said, and rose from his chair. Ginny had asked to see Harry a while ago, and he had been putting it off and done other things instead.

"You sure?" Maud asked.

"The other Weasleys just curse me and are generally nuts" Harry said. "Ginny is the only one to remain sane, and speaks quite nicely from all accounts" he added. "I want to know why she has not been affected as much as others who stay in Azkaban" and he and his girls took a portkey to the island. The island was as bleak and desolate as Harry has always imagined it to be, and a fog hung in patches as far as the eye could see. A howling wind blew around them, and there was a great coldness that seeped into the hard ground.

"Mr Potter" the Governor of Azkaban met them at the main doors. "I am having Prisoner 626375 readied now" he said.

"Thank you" Harry said.

"Would you like some tea before seeing her?" the man asked.

"I just want to see her" Harry said. The Governor nodded and led them down to the deepest parts of the prison. The door to Ginny's cell was heavy and windowless (though there was a little hatch that opened and shut), was made from the toughest metals and looked capable of withstanding several hits from a blasting spell.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Maud. The stench from inside was stomach churning, and the door finishing swinging open with a loud clanging noise that echoed along the corridors. The cell was unlit and filth littered the floor. A wooden bucket served as a toilet, and straw served as a kind of bed. Their eyes adjusted to the level of darkness and the group found a shadowy Ginny chained to the wall by one of her legs.

"You wanted to see me" Harry said, trying to not lose his lunch. Ginny didn't reply to Harry talking to her, although she did look at him with an odd expression. "If you have something to say, then say it or I leave and never return" and Ginny started rocking and humming a tune to herself.

"Ron, Ron… he's gone… broke a girl's head, so now he is dead" she sang lightly.

"Is that all?" Harry asked, annoyed that he had wasted his time. Ginny suddenly started before peering at Harry and the girls more closely.

"My name is Ginny. Did you know that a horse goes whiny?" she asked.

"What the hell…?" Enid was as baffled as the rest.

"Charlie… he was to blame, and his body's been took by the flame" Ginny went back to rocking back and forth.

"_Lumos_" Harry brought the lighting up in the cell, and nearly ended it in shock and horror. Ginny was chained by the leg, with one end in the wall and the other inside her actual leg. Her clothing was in tatters and was caked in her own filth and mess. Her face, arms and legs were covered in bruises and it looked as if she had been beaten very badly. Dried blood was on her body, clothing and the floor. Harry noted with a rising anger that there was a heavy amount between her legs.

"What the hell have you done to her?" Ruby asked the Governor.

"Punished her" he replied. Harry and Mildred had gone over to Ginny and begun casting spells on the battered girl. Harry looked up and Mildred just nodded at Harry through the tears that ran down her cheeks at the unasked question. Harry stood up and seemed to be thinking until the Governor discovered otherwise.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Harry slammed the man into cell door and put his glowing wand under his chin.

"Punishing her" said the man.

"YOU CALL THAT A PUNISHMENT?" Harry roared, and he brought his knee up into the man's groin. The Governor felt agony run through his body, and his legs went weak but he remained upright. "Ruby, run up to the offices and find the Deputy Governor and send them here now. After that, get through to Susan Bones and have her send a couple of Aurors here at once. We need a Healer as quickly as possible as well" and the girl nodded and ran along the corridor.

"Let her go" Maud said.

"I don't see why you are so concerned about he -" he was cut off by Mildred slapping him across the face so heard his eyes rolled in circles.

"Whatever she might have done, she is still a human being and has certain rights" she shouted. The castle shook for a few moments, and this was something only Harry could do as well – such was the power the pair both had.

"Try the _Solvo_ spell" Maud said to Enid who had come over to kneel by Ginny. The girl nodded and cut the chains that kept Ginny attached to the wall. The sound of running footsteps came a few seconds before Ruby returned with a healer and the Deputy Governor of Azkaban.

"Aurors are on the way" she said, moving aside to let the healer attend to Ginny. One glance at the Deputy's face told Harry that she had no idea had been happening to Ginny.

"What's your name?" he asked the shocked woman.

"Jennifer Taylor" she replied shakily.

"Listen to me very carefully, Miss Taylor" Harry said. "As Acting Minister for Magic, I am hereby relieving Frank Williams of duty as Governor of Azkaban Prison. Do you understand?" he asked, and Taylor just nodded in reply. "I am also ordering you to keep him locked up until he is formally arrested by the Aurors" and Harry looked over to the Healer who was casting spells on Ginny's broken and beaten body.

"I shall have to take her to St Mungos for treatment" the Healer said. "Certainly we shall have to find somebody trained in the Mind Arts to check her mental fitness"

"Would you like someone to go with her?" asked a deep voice. A couple of the Aurors that had been loyal to a free magical Britain had arrived.

"That isn't needed" Harry shook his head sadly.

"I'm going to eat some bread" Ginny sang. "Bang, bang… now I'm dead" she seemed to find this amusing and displayed all the attributes of Bellatrix LaStrange.

"I don't think so either" said the lead Auror.

"Escort this man to the Ministry and find out what he and others did. I want every name you can get, Oh, and don't forget that we are still technically at war, so force feed him some Truth Serum" Harry said, and he shoved the now former Governor's head into the door before moving aside so the Healer could float an insane Ginny out of the disgusting cell.

#

"She's here" Maud said to Harry, and allowed the person behind her into the room.

"Thanks" Harry replied.

"Mildred said you wanted to speak to me" Luna said.

"I do" Harry replied. "I assume she told you what happened to Ginny?" he asked.

"Yes"

"What you don't know is that she was driven insane by the treatment she got" Harry said. "I'll get to the point, Luna…" he hesitated.

"You need my talent" she said it for him.

"I know you hate being asked to use it, Luna" Harry said, "But you are the only person I know of at such short notice. I know you and Ginny didn't get on very well over the last few months, but I would like you to try for the friendship you _used_ to have. Nothing we have tried seems to work. We know that the Ginny we all know is in there somewhere, and I think we owe it to her to try and bring her to the surface again" and Luna thought silently for several minutes.

"I will give it a try" she said at last, "But it all depends on how far repressed Ginny is. The further I go, it becomes more difficult to pull somebody back. It never worked the first time as a matter of fact" Luna added.

"You've tried this before?" Harry was surprised.

"When I was nine years old, my talents began to show up all over the place. A test was set up to try and bring a mentally damaged back from what amounts to hell on this plane of existence. It was explained to me that the woman had been tortured by Death Eaters at the very end of the war. I went into the poor woman's mind and found nothing there. There weren't any memories, any kind of personality or anything else to speak of at all. All the woman knew was that they were in some kind of room, and that a young boy and an old lady would visit them every weekend and holiday. Another attempt was made several weeks later with the woman's husband, but we got the same results as before. It was decided to keep quiet about my special abilities, and as far as I know, the boy and old lady don't know what happened all those years ago" Luna sighed with an air of sadness. "Every single day for the last seven years, I have carried the weight of that failure and remembered it" she added.

"If this works for Ginny, then maybe you can do the same for Neville" Harry said, realising what it could do for hi friend.

"You are kind and thoughtful to think of others, Harry Potter but I am afraid that I wouldn't work" Luna smiled gently as she shook her head.

"Why not?"

"The husband and wife I tried to bring back were Alice and Frank Longbottom"

"Oh…" Harry was at a loss for words.

"I know it was not my fault, but every time I see Neville I feel that I have failed both him and his family" Luna said. "Harry, I will do what you ask of me on one condition" she looked at him with the most serious expression he had ever seen on her delicate features.

"Name it"

"If this doesn't work, then I want you to put Ginny to sleep. I do not mean that you give her a dreamless, but I want you end her life" small tears ran down Luna's doll like face.

"You have my word" Harry promised her. "How long will you need to prepare?"

"Two or three days" Luna said. "I need to be in a peaceful and calm state of mind to try this. But there is something you have to understand"

"What?"

"I am not trained in the science of pulling somebody out from their own mind. You have to study for two years _after_ graduating as a Healer to do what I am going to do" Luna said.

"No problem" said Harry. "I'll get Hermione to…" he stopped speaking before shaking his head. "Sorry" he apologised, "But it still feels as if she is with us at times"

"I know how you feel" said Luna. "Sometimes I think my mother is alive"

"Does it help?"

"Not really" Luna was thoughtful. "Do you think that we'll be getting something for what we did?"

"You mean a kind of medal for winning the war?" Harry asked and Luna nodded. "We should do. This time we paid the price with our most dearest loved ones" and Luna thought it best to leave Harry to his thoughts.

#

They found him in the Minister's office a couple of hours later drinking from a large bottle of whiskey. Harry had been doing a lot of crying from the looks of things, and broken and smashed items were strewn around the room.

"Harry?" Mildred moved to his side.

"Want to join me?" he asked.

"No, and you don't want any more" Enid said. "Drinking too much can seriously hurt you" she added.

"No more then what I deserve" Harry muttered, and threw back his glass and drained it in one go.

"You could die" Maud said.

"Like I said…" Harry picked up the bottle, looked at it intently and then threw it into the fireplace – sending shards of glass all over the floor.

"Come on, Harry" Ruby said. "You want to catch death from this do you?"

"It would be a fitting punishment" Harry said.

"What do you mean?" asked Mildred.

"The–Boy–Who–Lives! The Chosen One! Saviour Of All" Harry listed some of his many titles.

"And you did save people" Maud said gently.

"Not everybody" Harry whispered. "The–Boy–Who–Saves, and I couldn't even save those close to me" and he slumped back in the chair and started sobbing once more.

"There was nothing you could have done" said Ruby.

"I should have found a way…" Harry couldn't be reasoned with. "I should have found a way to save them. Anyone who comes near to me gets killed… its not fair! I JUST CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE" and with that, the building started to shake from the release of raw magic. As Harry put his head in his arms on the desk and broke down from the stress and strain, the girls noticed an official looking letter on the desk. Enid picked it up and gasped in surprise. She now knew why Harry had started drinking heavily.

"You better read this" she said as they gathered round her to read the contents of the letter.

_Dear Harry James Potter_

_After being recommended by seventeen different members of the Jewish faith, by a unanimous vote of the magical Knesset, you and the others of the main rescue force that saved the Magical World from the Dark Lord Voldemort, are to be awarded the status of Righteous Amongst The Nations to be awarded in one week from today in Jerusalem._

_Ezer Weizman  
><em>

"Oh my…" said Maud. She knew very well what an honour it was to be given the status of Righteous Amongst The Nations. She had grown up living next to an elderly Jewish couple, and they had told the young Maud tales of the pair living in Poland and being saved from the camps by a factory owner.

"This watch…" Harry said as he looked at it, "If I had got rid of it, how many more lives could have been brought with it?" and the group did their best to console Harry. They got him sober enough to get him home and into bed. There was nothing going on that night, but the girls just slept around him and let him be comforted by the love they radiated for him.

**AN:**

**Well looks like I'll be getting death threats from my Israeli reviewers AGAIN!**

**Regards**

**Pix- An Interested Writer**


	19. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Luna was ready for the attempt, and she had test dived on Enid as a calibration of sorts. Harry had the room cleared except for the Head Healer, Luna and himself and his precious girls. After checking that Ginny was asleep from the potion she had been given, Luna put some runes around the floor and a large one that looked rather like a bowl of pasta on Ginny's chest. After another check of Ginny's condition, Luna seated herself by her bedside and took hold of the other girl's hand.

"I'm going to start now" she said to the others. "Once I have closed my eyes, I don't want anybody to touch me or make a loud noise. This is dangerous as it is. I know what I am doing, but knowing and doing are two different things" and Harry smiled.

"I am confident in you, Luna" he said.

"Well if that doesn't make me nervous…" Luna giggled a moment before calming with a deep breath and letting her eyes slide shut. "Oh my…" she whispered, and then she remained silent for a very long time.

# # # # #

Luna had been expecting nothing but whiteness, but she instead found a neat little cottage on a beach. A quick try of the kitchen door told her she could not leave, so she went around the ground floor in search of Ginny. The target of the mission was sat in the sitting room watching the sea and some imaginary gulls fly in the bluest of blue skies with white fluffy clouds.

"You always liked the beach" Luna said. Ginny spun round to face her former friend.

"What are you doing here?" the red head asked.

"I could ask you the same thing" Luna noted dryly.

"Luna, you shouldn't be here" Ginny said calmly. "I am just waiting for my mind to shut down. Don't want you going down with me"

"And why are you doing that?" Luna enquired.

"Apart from what they do to me in Azkaban, I deserve to die for how mean I was to Harry and his friends. I wasn't under any kind of potion or anything like that, but I was controlled by my parents and my brothers. They said that I was destined to be Mrs Ginerva Potter, and that I should do any and every thing to get that title. I bet when Harry heard I was dieing he started celebrating" a few tears ran down from Ginny's face.

"On the contrary" Luna perched on the arm of the chair that Ginny was sat on. "Harry was the one that called me" and Ginny looked at the other girl with a frown.

"He sent you?" she asked. Ginny could not believe what she was hearing from the Ravenclaw.

"Harry still feels upset with you, but he will not see you suffer like you did" Luna thought for a moment. "He was desperate enough to ask me to do something that I have not done in many years, and I'm staying until you come with me" she added.

"Save yourself, Luna" Ginny sniffed as she looked out the window at the darkened clouds which had suddenly appeared. "I'll never get to be his wife, and I am sure Harry will be much happier when I am dead. I bet he'll throw a great big party – '_Good Riddance Ginny Weasley_' day" she said. Luna saw more tears come from Ginny, and she thought hard about what to say which would change Ginny's determination to die.

"Ginny, you would do anything to make Harry happy – right?" and the girl nodded. "Then why not make him _really_ happy and live. You will not be his wife, too much has happened for that to be, but live and be his friend once more" and Ginny sighed.

"So why are you doing this?" she asked. "You don't do things for no reason" and Luna shook her head in agreement.

"No, I don't do that… I do things to help my friends when they are in need" the blond looked out the windows at the clouds which remained a dark grey.

"And what am I?"

"A criminal" Luna said dead pan, "But, and despite everything that has happened to us, you are also my friend" the she chuckled.

"What?" Ginny demanded.

"Well if you decide to wait in here until you die, then I'll tell everyone at the funeral what you used with those batteries your father had" and Ginny went bright scarlet.

"You wouldn't dare" she said.

"Well you'll just have to live and find out" Luna said, then slowly extended her hand which was taken by the other girl. "Come on" and she willed the pair of them to the land of the living.

#

"HARRY!" Ginny was stopped from waking by the straps holding her down. Despite the few minutes inside her mind, it had actually been just under four and a half hours since Luna had gone into her mind. "I'm so sorry for what I have done to you…" she wailed. There was a lot of checking up to be done on her, and it was later that evening when Harry met with Ginny privately.

"How are you doing?" he asked her.

"The Healers think I should be alright to leave in about two days" Ginny replied.

"That's good"

"Yes. I was looking forward to getting back to _Hotel de Azkaban_. I was just about finished on the article for _Which Prison Monthly_. It certainly gets the full five slopbuckets" smiled Ginny. "I know what I have done is wrong, and I'll serve my time without complaint" she vowed.

"Nothing more then you deserve" said Harry flatly, and was mildly surprised to see Ginny nodding in agreement.

"I know… I was thinking of getting a job working with those injured in the fighting when I get out of here" she told him.

"Long time to wait, Ginny" Harry informed her.

"Oh" her face fell as she remembered.

"Do you really regret what you did?" Harry asked her.

"Yes"

"Let me tell you something, Ginny. What you did to me was hurtful, and what you did to Hermione was hurtful, spiteful, mean, cruel and a whole load of other things as well. Although you didn't cast the spell yourself, you helped to kill Hermione just as much as Ron and Charlie did" Harry said.

"You could kill me if it makes you feel better" Ginny offered.

"Gin, if I had wanted you dead, you'd only just be feeling the effects of the poisons by now…" Harry hissed. "I'd just about kill you, get you well again and then do more to you until I grew weary and finished the job" and Ginny's eyes widened as she figured what Harry was going to do.

"You're going to rape me, aren't you?" she asked.

"Of course" Harry said. "The potions you have been taking this afternoon have been laced with a mild compulsion charm. I'm going to enjoy this every step of the way" then laughed as Ginny shifted slightly in the bed to accommodate him. "Ginerva, listen to me very closely. I am never going to do anything to you that would harm you. That was just to see what you would do if I said I was going to do it to you" and the girl calmed down in relief. Although she didn't want to be raped, if it had helped her to make up for what she had done to him, Hermione and their friends…

"How can I ever makeup for what I have done to you?" she asked him.

"I have spoken to the Prison Board, and they have agreed to release you to my custody after I claimed you as part payment from your family" Harry informed her. "You are going to live with me and my girlfriends at the Potter Manor. Before you say it, you will not be working as a House Elf. Dobby says he has 'not enoughs times to playings suppievizzie to bad mistress Ginny' I think was what he said" Harry commented. "What you will do instead is work off your debt to me and the others by doing what I ask of you. You will start by spending what remains of the summer holiday going through the library and making a list of the books I have there. Even though I could treat you as a slave, I will pay you one Galleon a day for your work – assuming it is done well" Ginny wondered if this was hell because of Harry's offer. Perhaps this was some kind of eternal hell…?

"What about after the holiday?" she asked after a few moments of silent thinking.

"At the end of the holiday, you will go to Hogwarts and complete your final year" Harry said.

"But I can not afford to do that!" Ginny said. "Even if I never spend any of that money you give me, I would never be able to save enough for the tuition fees" she added.

"Because of what you and your family did in supporting Dumbledore and Voldemort, your assets have been frozen and taken to pay off in compensation. Because I have some sway with the Goblins due to my fair and equal treatment of them, the Goblins tracked down all of your personal possessions for me. Those are in your room for when you get there. As for paying for Hogwarts, I am going to do that out of my own pocket. I spoke to McGonagall about it whilst you was asleep earlier. She suggested a few things that I happen to agree with" Harry knew that Hermione and Jadu would be pleased he was helping a former enemy – albeit one that had been conditioned slightly over the years.

"What's that?" Ginny asked him.

"You will be subject to the same curfew that First Years are on. However, we both agree that there are some lessons that have to happen after the curfew, and we've agreed you won't be punished for that" Harry added. "Another thing is that you are banned from the Hogsmeade trips, but if I hear good things from you then you might go on the Christmas visit. We're letting you play Quidditch so long as you behave yourself. You will help the first years in their homework" Ginny just nodded as she just lay back and counted herself lucky.

"What about living with you and your girlfriends?" she asked.

"You will stay within the grounds at all times" Harry informed her. "You will leave only when you are with either myself, one of the others or a group of us. You will be allowed to use magic, but not with your wand. I have got you a wand which has been set so that you can do household charms plus a mild stunner in the event we have intruders. Your holiday homework will be done under the supervision of myself or my friends. You may have some of your own round one weekend every fortnight – if you have any left" and there was a long silence before Ginny spoke.

"But why?" she asked him.

"Because you were once my friend, Ginerva Weasley, and I will help you to become that person again. I am giving you a lot of freedom and trust that you do not deserve, Ginny. If you let me down big time, then it is straight back to Azkaban for you…"

"When do I start working for you"? the red haired girl asked.

"You will start next week" Harry said, then got up off the end of the hospital bed. "I have to go now. I may come and see you tomorrow, Ginny. Good evening" and with that Harry left the room and stood in the corridor. "Healer!" he called, and an older witch came hurrying close.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" she asked.

"A Healing Draught, on the double" he told her, and the Healer frowned and got one. "Five, four, three, two, one… now" and at that moment Ginny burst into tears and started crying.

"Are you a seer?" asked the Healer with amusement.

"Nope… not tall enough to be a tower" and Harry left for the nearest Floo point so he could leave for his home.

# # # # #

"She cried?" asked Maud.

"Enough for me to think about taking a boat to the Ministry tomorrow" Harry admitted.

"That is bad"

"Enough for the Met Office to put out a flood alert" Harry agreed. He had discussed the idea with his girlfriends, saying that he had to help her as she was as much a victim of Dumbledore as anybody else was. They had disagreed with that, and it was Maud who mentioned that Ginny had had enough chances over the years she had attended Hogwarts. Harry replied that if Ginny had been told that she was under an enchantment to not tell Harry anything, then she would have believed it – false though it was. Papers came through the following morning transferring custody of Ginny from Azkaban Prison to Harry, and this meant he was entitled to kill her on the spot if he so wished. After everybody had gone to bed that night, he sat by the fire with a glass of scotch in his hand – gazing into the fireplace. If only there had been a way to save both Jadu and Hermione… He had discovered that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had utterly destroyed the room were the Time Turners were kept. If Harry had been able to get one, he could have gone back in time to the time before Hermione's death and out an end to the war before it had begun. Too many people had died before the war was won. Though it was not required of him, he had personally gone round to see every single family of the many muggle borns killed during the final battles at Hogwarts. He was most likely in breach of many laws and treaties, but he did not care as he showed them memories of the battles and some that he had been able to pick up from the ambient magic that had remained after the fight. He allowed them to view records and court transcripts from the trials so far, and promised that those that were responsible were brought to account for their terrible actions. As he took another swig of his drink, Harry replayed going through the rows of the covered dead in his mind. One Hufflepuff would always stay with him until his dying day. She was a First Year whom had had her skirt, tights and knickers ripped to shreds and brutally raped before she had every single one of her nerves explode and she had died with a look of agony on her face after her chest was turned into a bloodied and smouldering ruin. She had been hit by some kind of flame spell which had turned her clothing into ashes. It was a life cut tragically short. When the remains of the DMLE looked up the deceaseds' families, it was discovered that she had no body at all. Because the only option was to bury her in a magical paupers' grave, Harry sent his own people to retrieve the body, accord it full honours and for the girl to be buried in the Potter family plot.

"Are you okay?" a quiet voice startled Harry from his dark thoughts.

"I don't think any of us will ever be alright, Milly" he replied.

"I know what you are thinking" Mildred replied, picking up another glass on the sideboard and sitting next to Harry on the sofa. She poured herself a glass of the scotch, sipped it and looked at the fire before speaking again. "Harry, what has happened has happened for a reason. You did not cause the deaths of any of those lost – it was the ones that followed Voldemort and Dumbledore that did that act"

"I could have saved more" Harry said simply.

"Yes, I suppose you might have been able to" Mildred replied, "You tried your best and saved thousands and thousands of people – maybe even millions all over the world because of what you did. You saved lone persons and people who had families" and Harry looked at her.

"Is there something I should know?" he asked her quietly – draining the last of his drink.

"Only the others and the staff at Cackle's know about this" Mildred drained her glass in one go before pouring them each another lot. "When I was seven years old, I was in a car with my family. We were travelling along a country road when a drunk driver came round a bend and hit us head on. I was the only one to survive out of my family. We all knew I was a witch by then, so I tried to use 'magic powers' to save them, but I couldn't. I thought that I was the worst witch out of the entire history of witches. I was sent to live in a kids' home for a while before a couple adopted me. Before you and Hermione came along, I could only get things right when there was some kind of emergency going on. Knowing you has given me confidence, and one could argue that you saved my life – and we're not talking about silly broom accidents or Ethel Hallow messing up my potions"

"Why did you never tell me this before?" Harry asked.

"Speak to you? The great and mighty Harry Potter?" Mildred laughed. "I was a nervous wreck the first time I saw you! Saving people does not always mean that you stopped them from dying, Harry. You saved me from a pretty bad fate. Because of my low scores over the years, Hardbroom told me that she was going to ask for my expulsion from the school – even if I _was_ the Head Girl"

"A title that fits you well" Harry laughed as Mildred went bright red as she got his meaning.

"Are you going to the award ceremony?" she asked once she had calmed down.

"At first I thought that I shouldn't, but I suppose that it is best for everybody that I do" Harry finished the glass and put it on the small table in front of the sofa.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I pity you in a way" Mildred said.

"Oh?" Harry looked into her eyes. "How so?"

"You were trained to be a warrior for the light. You entered the fight knowing that you had no future ahead of you. Knowing that all of the free world rested on your shoulders. You told us before we left for Hogwarts that you fully expected to die. That is what you were always told, but now you have no battle to fight" Mildred said.

"Until the next Dark Lord"

"I suppose so…" she replied. "But now you have something to do. We're all starting at Wierdsister soon enough" and Harry nodded. The college had written to them saying that they would be taking the All Seeing Eye test on the day they entered. If they failed it, then they would not be admitted to the college. The All Seeing Eye looked into your heart, mind and soul to see if you were worthy. They would have given anything to see what it did if it had looked over Voldemort.

"A wide person once told me that the best way to succeed is by going on with one's life" Harry said after a moment.

"Who said that?"

"Maud" and they laughed as they went to bed.

# # # # #

It was a bright and warm day in the city, and a small party of people had gathered in the gardens for the ceremony. Members of the Yad Vashem gave the certificates, medals and other awards to the group that had done so much to save Britain and the entire planet. Also there were the parents of Anthony Goldstein to add their own thanks to Harry and his friends. After learning an entire airliner would be sent just for them, Harry had gone to the morgue at St Mungos and retrieved the body of Anthony Goldstein and a number of others for return to Israel. Not knowing what the right things were, Harry tracked down six Rabbis that were going to Tel Aviv, told them of everything that had happened, swore them to secrecy and then had them put on the plane so they could remain by each casket as their contents took one last flight home. In the magical section of the Park of Heroes, a plaque had been erected which read simply

_This plaque has been erected so that history may remember the deeds of Harold James Potter._

_Without a single thought for his own life or safety, he, along with others, took part in the 2nd Dark War and saved each and every one of the millions of people on this planet. This plaque is in his tribute…_

It had been written in Hebrew, and was among a number of others placed on the stone wall. In the morning, the group had planted carob trees in the Avenue of the Righteous which led to the Yad Vashem museum. When shown around the magical annex, Harry had broken down into tears as he was shown the Book of Life which contained the list of all that had been saved during the days that the final battle took place. It took almost a full hour for him to be in a fit state once again. After it was all over and done with, Harry asked to be taken to the Catholic cemetery overlooking the valley of Hinnom (known as Gehenna in the New Testament) where the group searched for the resting place of Oskar Schindler. They all placed rocks on the grave cover, and stood silently over it for a few minutes before returning to their hotel.

"I am looking forward to the museum visits tomorrow" said Enid.

"Should be nice to see some of the old ruins" Harry said. "However, I would really like to see the bed right about now" he added.

"Hey!" exclaimed Mildred. "Listen to this really odd radio station" she brought the radio into the sitting room and turned up the volume. A female voice drifted out of the radio speaker, and it enthralled the listeners…

_Echo Zulu India. Echo Zulu India. Echo Zulu India. Message_… it started giving out letters in English in groups of five.

"Must be E10" Harry commented.

"E10?" asked the others.

"Tell you about it later" Harry glanced around the room. "Never sure _who_ is listening in" and a noise that sounded like bubbles started up over the woman's voice. "Bloody Iranians…" he muttered.

# # # # #

"Thank you for coming, Mr Potter" Mr Goldstein shook his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine" Harry replied, and he was led into the sitting room of a large townhouse on the edge of the city.

"First of all, I would like to thank you for bringing home my son's body for burial" Mr Goldstein said.

"It was the least I could have done for him" Harry replied. "He knew what had to be done, and Anthony did it without being asked to. According to the law, I shouldn't really be showing you this, but I have brought you a video, of sorts, of the battle as it took place. I know that it can not take the place of his death, but it might help you better understand the entire thing. I read the report conducted, and I understand that it was more or less quick and painless" Harry tapped a specially adapted Pensieve which started to show an accurate account of the Battle of Hogwarts. At one point, it switched to the view of one of the survivors for the most important part for the Goldstein family. It showed Anthony pressing home an attack with great courage and determination, firing at everything that he could before a trio of red coloured spells hit him in the chest. He looked down at the smoking hole and then looked up.

'_Bastards_' he spat through the blood spilling out of his mouth. He shot off one last defiant spell which brought the ceiling down on the Death Eaters before he collapsed to the ground and died.

"Thank you, Mr Potter" said Mrs Goldstein. "At least I can take comfort in that he died well and saving others" the tears ran down her face – as they did for every member of the family.

"I see you came out of it in one piece though" Mr Goldstein commented.

"Physically I did" Harry's mood became heavy as he thought about the battle. "In doing so, I lost two people most precious to me. Both were girls I was going to marry this summer. One was killed by people working for Albus Dumbledore. The other was killed when she stayed behind to ensure that those not capable of fighting had time to escape. She fought them so well that they had to kill my betrothed in order to get down the corridor. I won the war, but the cost was too high…" there was silence before Harry brought out a long, thin box from his cloak and placed it on the small table in front of him.

"What is that?" asked a young girl.

"That is Anthony's wand" Harry said, and Mrs Goldstein opened it as the family looked at the wand that lay on a purple cushion. "It should have been snapped by the DMLE, but we have no DMLE at the moment and I gave word that no wand should be snapped unless I personally gave the order" he added.

"Mr Potter, I do not mean to be rude at all, but would you mind if we were alone?" asked Mr Goldstein, and Harry nodded and left the house for the waiting car outside.

# # # # #


	20. Those Where The Days, My Friends

**Those Where The Days, My Friends**

Three days after the return from Israel, Harry called a public gathering at which he announced the formal end to the war. After a quick trip to pick up Ginny from the Ministry cells where she had been staying during the visit, the group returned to Grimmauld Place to finally get over everything that had happened to them. A number of the group left to spend time with their families, leaving Harry with just Ginny and Ruby for company. He saw very little of Dobby and Kreacher unless he called for them, but he thought nothing of it if there was a good secret to be kept.

"That is enough for today" Ruby said to Ginny. The other girl nodded and finished writing the name of the book on her list before closing the book.

"May I go to my room now?" she asked.

"You don't have to ask to do that" Ruby replied.

"But Harry said I have to ask before I do anything" came the reply.

"I hardly think he meant for you to be so to the rules like this" Ruby said sternly. "Look, come into the kitchen and lets talk" and she led the red head into the kitchen and sat her at the table. "So what is on your mind?" she asked.

"Nothing" Ginny mumbled.

"You are very lucky that you are alive" Ruby said.

"That's what the Healers told me" the other girl said, but Ruby shook her head. "You do not understand… After we cremated Hermione, Harry swore an oath that he would kill every Weasley that had acted to kill Hermione and injure Mildred. When we found you like you were in Azkaban, Harry spoke at great length with the Unspeakables to see if one could argue that the Oath was fulfilled. Luckily for you, you made no direct action to hurt Mildred or kill Hermione, so the Oath was over and done with" Ginny was wide eyed with amazement.

"I guess I am" she said quietly.

"More so then you know" Ruby said, and Ginny as she thought she knew what Ruby meant. "Has Luna Lovegood spoken to you since she went into your mind?" and the other girl shook her head.

"I do not really blame her after all the things I said and did to her"

"Even though she had every right to hate you and refuse Harry's request, Luna decided to help you as best as she possibly could. We all knew that there was a high chance of failure"

"I suppose I would have gone to some kind of loony bin"

"Actually, Luna asked Harry to kill you if the attempt failed. She didn't want you having a reduced quality of life – all because you were once friends. While we were away, Harry had daily reports sent to him about your condition. I know he has spoken to you, but I'll make it very clear to you here and now" Ruby casually put her wand into plain sight. "Harry has given you a chance to redeem yourself despite everything you have done to him and us. If you cross Harry in even the slightest, they will never find the body…" the threat hung in the air as Ginny thought very hard and very carefully.

"May I go to my room to think, please?" she asked.

"No, you may not go to you room to think. Get cleaned up from all the dust you have on you, put on something on nice and come to see me. You may spend some of the evening with your brothers" and when she came back down, Ruby made a show of looking over Ginny. She wanted the girl to know that she had earned this right.

# # # # #

"You seen Ginny?" Harry asked as he came into the library to find Ruby floating some boxes out of the way.

"I sent her to spend some of the evening with her brothers" she replied.

"So just you and me then?" and Harry made a plan for that night. Dobby cooked the pair of them a curry, and Kreacher selected a beautiful red wine to go with it. They watched a film together in the sitting room on the sofa together – an arm around the other and just being intimate as a young couple should be. When the film was over with, Harry took Ruby to her room, wished her a good night and then went downstairs to the study to start a letter that badly needed writing.

_Dear Readers,_

_The war is at an end after a high price was paid. Last time it was in the price of many Aurors, Hit Wizards and others that went above and beyond the call of duty. This time, however, the price was paid in the blood of our loved ones, our children, our sons, our daughters, brothers, sisters and our friends. Regardless of race, colour or creed, students put their lives on the line in order to save others. Sadly, some paid the ultimate price and died. The price of war is always high, but sometimes it is too high…They battled for peace, and we should honour them for their sacrifice. The Ministry will shortly announce the creation of a charitable fund which will pay for a number of memorials at the Ministry and at Hogwarts. Any child left orphaned by the war will be put through Hogwarts for an entire seven years at the Ministry's expense. Money will be paid into numbered accounts and held in trust until said children turn of age._

_Although we now live in a time of peace, we are still counting the cost of fighting. I am saddened to hear that people die every day still. This war has affected every single person in the magical community – myself included. I lost two people most dear to me, and I still expect them to walk into the room or come out of the Floo. By appearing in this letter to you all, I hereby announce that tighter security will be put into place at Azkaban prison. I mean to do this by expanding the Auror forces so three entire companies are always at a moment's call. Let us start as we mean to go on… By the end of this week, I shall appoint a formal cabinet and then begin procedures for a fair and free election for Minister for Magic. I take this chance to rule myself out of the running for the position for personal reasons._

_A muggle general once said, '_It is good that we grow tired of war, lest we grow too fondly of it' _If you want to do some great honour to me, remember the names of the dead so that they are never forgotten._

_Harry James Potter_

Harry finished the letter and sent it off with Hedwig to the _Prophet_, _Quibbler_ and the other news papers of the magical community. As he went to pour himself a shot of brandy, Ginny came out of the Floo from her visit to Fred and George. Realising she had been some hours with them, she hung her head low and apologised for breaking Harry's trust and that she will get ready for Azkaban. She became so uncontrollable that he had to slap the girl hard on the cheeks twice to get her to stop crying. Pushing her into an armchair in the sitting room, he shoved a Firewhiskey into her hands and told her to drink it. Although she had been on the other side, albeit through conditioning, she was also a survivor of the war.

"Ginny, I have been very impressed with your work since you came here" Harry said to her. "You have done everything that has been asked of you, even though you think yourself lower then a house elf. Saying that though, I still can not completely trust you. What I will do is this: you will work between 9am and 5pm. Any time after that is your own to spend as you like. If you wish to visit Fred and George, then that can be at the weekend during the daytime – but with someone always with you. I'm sorry, but those are the rules. If you have forgotten, then you might be allowed some more freedom at Christmas time with regards to Hogsmeade visits and the like" Harry looked down and passed her a tissue. "Now dry those eyes, go to bed and we'll make a fresh start in the morning" and Ginny thanked him for his kindness to her before running up to bed.

#

Being in a little used house was strange to Harry after being at Cackle's for the year, and he greeted Mildred like a long lost family relative when she returned after seeing her adoptive family. It took a few days for the rest of the group to return, but they were one big happy family once more. As they would be starting Weirdsister before Hogwarts began, Ginny was packed off to Fred and George to spend the last two days with them. They Portkeyed directly to the college and met with the Principal. Because of their stated desire to live together, they had to take a flat near the college instead of living in it like some others did. After the meeting, they met some of the other students including a sour and dark teen called Hobbes. When they had shaken hands, the hairs on the back of Harry's neck went right up and he made a note to keep an eye on him. The following day, they wore white cloaks with hoods and stood in a semi circle before The All Seeing Eye. It was explained that each person coming there to learn had to stand in front of the Eye. If it glowed green, then they would be admitted with no problems at all. If it glowed red, then the person was given one chance to prove they were good enough to enter the college.

"Mildred Hubble!" and Mildred stepped forwards into the circle before the Eye. Every other person had been passed, though some had had to explain why first. The Eye looked into her heart, soul and mind before going red. Before Mildred had a chance to explain, the Eye then went to green. This had happened twice before when two people had been nervous of what might happen.

"I made it!" Mildred said in relief.

"Harry Potter!" called Professor Thunderblast. "I have no doubt that you will get a gre- oh…" she stopped speaking when the Eye went straight to red the moment Harry stepped into the circle. When the Eye was asked the reason for not allowing Harry entry, it projected an image from the Battle of Hogwarts at the moment Harry killed Voldemort. When the Eye remained a solid red, some of the staff burst into rapid talking about going past the Eye and allowing Harry to enter.

"But the Eye said he was a killer" said a stout woman. "I don't want a murderer in this place of learning"

"Fine" Harry said, and took off the cloak and threw it to the ground. "It is clear that you don't want me here, so I think I'll just go home" and he turned and left the chamber – his footsteps going quieter as he left the college. There was a stunned silence in the chamber at his departure, and it continued after he left until Mildred removed her cloak as well.

"If he goes, then I go too" she said, and she hurried to catch up to Harry.

"Where Harry hoes, we shall follow" said the others, and they threw the cloaks off and went after Harry.

"This has never happened before" said Thunderblast. "Perhaps the Eye has a weakness?" she suggested.

"How do you mean?" asked the Principal.

"If someone came here and was a murderer, then the Eye would reject them at once" Thunderblast said.

"Which it did" retorted the stout woman.

"Although Harry Potter has killed another wizard, it was entirely justifiable and in a good cause and reason. I assume the Eye can not tell the difference. I also suspect that Mr Potter feels guilty for the deaths of those at the hands of the Death Eaters" Thunderblast said.

"I don't think so" said the Principal. "Remember that girl that came here a decade ago? She accidentally killed a man that was trying to rob her house, and yet the Eye let her inside the college. No, I think we'll be better off not having Mr Potter around" and the staff turned to dealing with lessons for the following day. With nothing to keep them in Cambridge at all, the group returned directly to Grimmauld Place and asked to see Cackle and Hardbroom as soon as was possible. Their former Headmistress and Deputy Headmistress were stunned by the news that the Eye had refused Harry admission to the college. Both women smiled though as they heard that Mildred and the others had left alongside Harry when the staff started arguing. With a bit of help from the pair, the group signed up to do a correspondence course instead of being at Weirdsister. The girls also lodged a formal complaint to the Witches Guild concerning what had happened there. One of the few benefits that Harry could see was the ability to speed up a little thing that he was working on. Cackle and Hardbroom had agreed at once that it could happen at the school.

# # # # #

"You're so hot teasing me, saw your face but I can't take a chance on a chick like you… doo bee doo do… Its something I couldn't do…"

"Okay…" Harry looked at the others. "Which one of you let Dobby near the Abba LPs?"

# # # # #

Harry was deeply affected by the rejection from Weirdsister, and the other tried to cheer him up with little success. It had been the first time people had rejected or hated him for killing Voldemort, and he bitterly wondered how long it would take for him to appear in court on a murder charge. When Ethel had found out what had happened, she was livid and offered to use all the clout she had to change the minds of the staff at the College. Harry was very tempted to use a Ministry decree and order the place to take him in, but that would just smack of pettiness from him.

"Are you alright?" asked Enid.

"In some ways" Harry replied. "I have never been more tempted in my life to leave the magical world. Why should I have saved the magical world if this is what I am going to expect?" he asked.

"Not everybody thinks that" Enid said shortly. "We don't think that way at all, and we know you had to kill Voldemort for the simple reason it was the right thing to do"

"Some people would have had me just smack Voldemort on the arse and called him a naughty boy" Harry said as he shook his head. "And god alone knows what I will do after the elections are over…" he referred to a recently passed motion. A large group had waited until Harry was out of the country before getting a bill passed that stopped Harry working as an Auror or any other Ministry position once the elections were over. A number of businesses had followed suit and informed him he was not welcome in their shops as a member of staff or as a customer. The position of Gringotts had been to tell the party they would always be welcome in their bank at any time of the day.

"Why do you not just declare the Ministry dissolved and assume direct power?" asked Maud.

"Because that would mean me becoming a dictator, Maud" Harry said. "No… I kind of expected this to happen. And in the legal world of things, they are quite correct that the killing of Voldemort is murder" and he swirled his glass a few times before swallowing the contents in one gulp.

"We could get the _Prophet_ to write about what is going on" said Mildred.

"They printed the story about the Eye" Ruby pointed out. "I don't think they are going to do that" she added.

"Then what are we going to do?" asked Maud.

"_We_?" asked Harry with a frown.

"Whatever happens to you happens to us as well" Mildred said firmly.

"Harry Potter, Sir?" Dobby popped into the room.

"Hey, Dobby. Whats up?" he asked the elf.

"Dobby is hearing very bad people send people to beings sending you to Azkaban" the elf said.

"What the hell?" Enid said.

"They're coming to arrest me" Harry said. "Now that Voldemort is out of the way, they can throw me in jail and take over and spread Pureblood talk all over"

"I'll see if Susan can issue the recall orders" Enid said.

#

"Thank Merlin they were stupid enough to sign their names" Susan said. She had gathered as many Aurors as she could get her hands on and got them to the DMLE. The plan was to arrest those members of the Wizendgamot that had signed the order for Harry's arrest and execution.

"Ready?" asked Mildred.

"As much as we'll ever be" Susan replied. Not everybody on the list had been part of the group that had banned Harry from Ministry employment, but Harry could do nothing at all about that.

"My last act as Minister" he said with a sad smile.

"What are you going to do after this?" Susan asked.

"I thought of going on a nice, long cruise" Harry replied. "After that, though, I really do not know. Thought I might teach at Cackle's" he added.

"And he still has to marry us" Maud reminded him.

"As if I could forget that" Harry said laughing. They set off with the remaining Aurors and arrested those that had got Harry on a termination order. Some of them came after a fight, but all of them sat awaiting interrogation.

# # # # #

It was not, however, Harry's last act as Minister. That came for Dumbledore's trial after the discovery he had personally signed, as Chief Warlock, the order allowing Hermione's death.

"We're ready" said the Forwitch of the jury.

"Very well" said the Judge. "Bring forth the prisoner!" he called. A side door opened and Dumbledore was dragged in wearing a plain black robe. He had two sets of magical restraining cuffs on as nobody wanted to make a mistake and allow his escape. He was also bound up with thick ropes used to tie ships up to the dockside. He was, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, without his trademark long beard as it 'breached Azkaban rules'. The pair of Aurors bringing him into the courtroom, rather fittingly Courtroom 10, wore full body armour and were ready for battle in the event someone staged a rescue of Dumbledore. What he didn't know was that Harry had personally given them both a written and verbal reserve order to execute the prisoner in that event.

"This court is a sham" Dumbledore said the moment he understood where he was. "I am the Chief Warlock and the Supreme Mugwomp. I can not be tried for any crimes"

"You are a cunt and an arsehole" Harry kept his anger in relative check. "Why not actually shut up and listen?"

"Thank you, Mr Potter" the Judge said. Dumbledore was stood in the middle of the floor, facing the judge and the jury. "I shall now ask for the verdict. Forewitch, have you come upon a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honour"

"And what is this verdict?"

"On the Charges listed from 1 to 120, we find the defendant Guilty. On the Charge of Aiding and Abetting criminals, we find the defendant Guilty. On the Charge of supporting the Dark Arts, we find the defendant Guilty. On the Charge of ordering the execution of prisoners of war, we find the defendant Guilty. On the Charge of Supporting lord Voldemort and the group known as the Death Eaters, we find the defendant Guilty. On the charge of ordering the Kidnapping of Mildred Hubble, we find the defendant Guilty. On the Charge of ordering the Kidnapping of Hermione Granger, we find the defendant Guilty. On the Charge of ordering the Murder of Hermione Granger, we find the defendant Guilty" the witch needed a glass of water after that.

"Were all counts reached by all or by a majority?"

"It was reached by all"

"Very well" the Judge said. "The court thanks the jury for its time. Albus Dumbledore, you have been found Guilty on all charges. For all but the last, you are sentenced to a maximum of 100 Years. On the mater of the last charge, Albus Percival Wulfic Brian Dumbledore, you are hereby sentenced to death. You are remanded to the custody of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement until sentence is carried out. Doing this will give me an overwhelming surge of sexual pleasure. Aurors, _take him down_!" and Dumbledore looked wildly around for a rescue that never came. What support he had had, had vanished and he realised that nobody was coming to save him.

#

"I demand the body of Albus Dumbledore!" Susan called out. The incredibly tiny cell was opened and Dumbledore dragged out and taken to the chair that was hooked up to all sorts of wires. "Albus Dumbledore, you have been sentenced to death by means of the electric chair. Sentence and means passed by the Minister of Magic. Aurors, please place the prisoner in the chair" and the witnesses watched as Dumbledore lived out the last few minutes of his life. Apart from the Aurors, Harry and his intendeds had invited the staff from Cackle's to attend, as well as McGonagall, Ginny and a number of others to watch as the final chapter was played out.

"Wait!" Mildred's voice stopped the Auror from placing a wet sponge on Dumbledore's head. "Leave it. Make the bastard suffer" and the Auror looked at Harry for guidance.

"You heard the order, Auror. Carry it out" he said sharply.

"Yes, Sir" and he placed the hood over Dumbledore and attached the cap to his head.

"Any last words, Dumbasfuck?" Enid asked.

"Let me go this instant, and I will forgive you for everything after a hefty compensation is paid to me" Dumbledore said.

"Albus Dumbledore, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead in accordance with Harry Potter's desire. May Satan himself bugger you for eternity" the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock and various watches. On the stroke of midnight, Harry spoke the final word.

"Now" and Dumbledore screamed in pain as he was slowly electrocuted to death. Smoke came from a hole in the hood, and the smell of scorching flesh hit the watching witnesses. Dumbledore screamed out in pain and struggled against the leather straps tying him to the chair. It had come to Harry the other day after he had watched The Green Mile, and popped over to America to borrow one of the chairs from the American Department of Magic. He wanted Dumbledore to suffer badly for all of the pain he had caused to him and those around him. As he watched, Harry saw blue flames shoot out from under the hood but the chair was kept running until Harry was satisfied that justice was done. "What's that, Sir?" he asked in a mocking tone. "You want the power turned up? Well, I suppose if you say so…" and he increased the power going to the jerking figure. It was another three minutes before the screaming stopped and Dumbledore's head slumped as far forward as possible.

"Is he dead?" asked McGonagall.

"Almost" replied one of the Aurors. Harry's reaction was to douse Dumbledore with water from his wand and then turn the power back on for a minute to finish the job right.

"That's better" he said, watching the still smoking corpse sitting in the chair. Bits of flesh burned, and the smell was overpowering. "Ladies, I have an excellent bottle of Firewhiskey at home that I wish to share. Would you care to partake?" he asked, and gestured for them to leave.

"What do you want us to do with him?" the Aurors asked.

"Burn his body to ashes, then bury it out in the country someplace. Tell me where and then get your minds wiped" Harry said.

# # # # #

By the time the wizarding public had awakened, Harry had cleared the office of everything and handed his resignation notice in to the Chief Warlock.

_Dear Somebody,_

_I quit_

_Signed_

_H. Potter_

#

"You ready?" asked Cackle.

"No" Harry said. "But lets get this show on the road" and he left the little room adjoining the Great Hall. The entire school were wearing their formal uniforms and cloaks as they sat as if for assembly. Taking up the two top rows were Ethel, Drusilla, Fenella and Griselda. Harry waited at the stage for a few minutes before the doors opened and Harry's brides walked in and up the middle of the seating. He hadn't seen them since the day before last, and Harry's breath was taken away by their radiance. Ethel had brought an entire team of make up artists and hairdressers from her father's businesses to make the day perfect. Fenella and Griselda had designed the dresses after much consulting. Charlie Blossom and Merlin Longstaff, good friends of the girls, walked up with two each as their escorts. Ethel, Drusilla, Fenella and Griselda acted as Bridesmaids – Rudi being a flower girl. They took their places as the four joined a nervous Harry at the front. He would have felt calmer if he had gone up against Voldemort armed with just a piece of paper.

"You may sit" Cackle said.

"Thanks" Harry said, and took one of the spare chairs.

"Not you, Harry…" Cackle rolled her eyes.

"Ah… Right! Sorry about that" Harry said sheepishly as the girls giggled.

"Some five months ago, many of us left here at the start of a long and costly battle. One of our number was already dead, and another would give up her life to save friends and people she hardly knew. Although Hermione Granger and Jadu Wali are not here, I am sure that they are watching in spirit" Cackle began the service.

"They'll be watching the wedding night for sure" muttered Ethel.

"No doubt, Ethel Hallow" said Hardbroom. Some of the younger witches went an interesting shade of red.

"Over the years of my being Headmistress here, I have never had the honour and the privilege of conducting a wedding before. It is fitting that five of our former students returned to this school to be joined in the wonders of marriage. In my… many… years of being in charge here, I have never seen such an incredible level of love and dedication as shown by these five. Mildred Hubble, for instance, could have allowed Miss Hardbroom to die during the attack upon the school. She chose to save her – even though Miss Hardbroom would often give her detention. This ceremony shows that despite all of the horrors of war, love will always remain. It is a symbol of hope for the future" Cackle looked at the group. "Do you, Mildred Georgina, Enid, Maud, Ruby take Harry James to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold? In sickness and in health? Until death does you part?" she asked.

"I do" said Mildred.

"I do" Said Ruby.

"I do" said Enid.

"I do" said Maud.

"And do you, Harry James, take Mildred Georgina, Enid, Maud, Ruby to be your lawfully wedded wives? To have and to hold. In sickness and in health. Until death does you part?" Cackle asked.

"Umm… now that I think about it, I really don't think so" Harry said. There was an audible gasp running round the hall until they saw Harry and his brides with big smiles on their faces. "I do" he said with a chuckle.

"Then, by the power invested in me by somebody or other" Cackle said with a smile on her face, "I pronounce you husband and wife, wife, wife and wife" she said, ticking them off on her fingers, and there was much cheering and all sorts of shouting. Once it had died down, they had a hand tied to their partners' as a symbol of their devotion and loyalty to each other. There was a golden glow around the five and tiny ribbons of white intermixed with it. It was clear to all that magic had accepted them as married.

"If you would all like to go to the hall" said Drill, "A buffet has been set out" and the party drifted away to the dining hall.

# # # # #

The newly weds set off for their honeymoon after receiving a good many presents which kept Dobby and Kreacher busy for some time. The two elves spent an hour and a half transporting and storing them all at Grimmauld Place. The group went in a limo to Manchester Airport and boarded a private aircraft to fly to the West Indies. They would stay there for a fortnight before returning home for a week of staying at Great Yarmouth. Days were spent in the West Indies either on the beach or walking around the holiday home wearing just sunglasses and flip-flops. Harry came to enjoy that fortnight, and watched as his girls walked around naked – a new favourite activity. He loved sitting back and watching as the water dripped off their bodies as they came out of the water. They watched the stars at night and then sleeping in the large bed in the master bedroom – two girls on either side of Harry. There was, however, very little sleep the first three nights as there was an all night sex session. The five made great use of their collection of paddles and other sex toys, and the four girls showed how much they loved Harry. On the last day there, the girls spiked Harry's tea so he walked around with a 24 hour erection. This was supposed to be a harmless prank, but Harry turned it around and took the four of them in the kitchen.

# # # # #

"You seen Harry?" asked Ruby.

"With Maud" Enid pointed to the snooker table which held a moaning and groaning Maud on it. Harry was stood with his head buried between Maud's thighs – eating her out.

"Harry!" Ruby said. "We have to be going in half an hour"

"Fucffff" Harry said.

"Don't talk with your mouth full" Mildred said dead pan. She was looking for her wand which seemed to be missing. With Maud very happily satisfied, Harry and the girls took a group shower before dressing in formal robes. They went to the Ministry and, from there, to Hogwarts where the Victory Parade was being held. The new Minister had decided to give the medals all at the same time. It took a lot of convincing to get Harry to accept his Order of Merlin 1st Class – with clusters.

#

"… I thank you for coming, Mr Potter" said the man, shaking his hand with enthusiasm. Harry had been looking forward to this Quidditch for a few weeks, but he had to be convinced by Mildred to go. Her health had not been the past year or so, and he was very worried about leaving her by herself in St Mungos. His wife had said that she had the very best of the very best looking after her, and that it would do him well to get out and enjoy himself for a few hours. She was the only one of his wives remaining alive after the years. Maud had died from a heart attack three years previous, and Enid and Ruby had just gone from old age.

Over the seventy years since the Battle of Hogwarts many of Harry's good friends had died until he, Mildred, Ethel, Drusilla and a few other remained from that terrible day. Many others remained like Sybil, but she had not been involved in the actual assault. Miss Bat had simply vanished one night, and she was never found. It was said by many students that you could still hear her playing on the harmonium rather badly. Miss Drill retired after ten more years to move to Canada with Serge. Miss Hardbroom had remained as Deputy for years afterwards, taking over after Miss Cackle died. That was a big blow for Harry and a great many witches she had taught over the years. The kindly old woman had finished teaching lessons one day and simply passed away in her sleep. Hundreds of people from all over the world attended her funeral, and they thought the coffin was a nice touch. Hardbroom had created a cheesecake shaped one for her friend and the closest person to be a mother to her. In a rather bad light, the Witches Guild stopped the GAS of the Academy which left them with no money to finish the academic year. Harry, his wives, Ethel, Drusilla, Fenella and Griselda had stormed the building, told the members exactly what they thought of them and said that Cackle's never needed the Guild as it was better then any approved school. Harry then took them all to Gringotts where they took out large amounts of money from one of his many vaults and carried it to Cackle's with instructions to HB to spend it on the pupils. They then filled in the vacant teaching spots for the rest of the year as some of the teachers had left after the status was removed. They even got Drill back for a few months which secretly pleased Hardbroom a lot. After Hardbroom's death, it was discovered she had left no nominated person to follow her. It was decided by the Board of Governors that Fenella and Griselda take the position jointly. As the board was made up of Harry and his wives, this was not an issue. The group's children attended either Cackle's or Shamrock Academy depending if they were boys or girls.

Harry served on that as well as being Minister of Magic for three terms. They had managed to get the ruling overturned in order to allow him to serve. During his terms of office, Harry began a number of restructuring programs. New and better relations were established with the sentient magical creatures, more modern technology was put in place and a fairer justice system was enacted. He had the foresight to get the magical part of the country out of the Magical EU before the crisis of 2010 to 2012. Harry did, however, suggest to the Magical EU that the banks foreclose on Greece, and that they should sell the country off at auction. This resulted in North Korea buying the country. After his third term of office was over, Harry desired a quieter life and spent time at home with his wives, eight daughters and eight sons. Harry had got bored over the weekends…

"It was a pleasure" Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and shook the manager's hand.

"Would you care to come with me to the Director's box and have a drink?" asked the chairman.

"Just the one quick drink I supp-" Harry was cut off by an Auror bursting through the doors of the box.

"Mr Potter?" Harry raised his hand. "Mr Potter, you need to get back to St Mungos at once" the woman executed a side step to the left before she was run over. Harry still had an amazing turn of speed for a hundred and fifty seven, and he took the floo directly to the floor Mildred was on. He was met by the Healer looking after Mildred and the Senior Healer in charge of the ward.

"Sit Rep!" Harry said sharply – falling back on the old days of the war.

"Mr Potter, ten minutes ago Mrs Potter suffered a massive heart attack. We managed to get her back to life again, but her body is failing her" said the Healer.

"You mean…" Harry held the Healer station desk for support before he fell to the floor.

"I am afraid so, Mr Potter" said the Senior Healer. "As far as we can tell, her internal organs have all shut down. It is just her magic that is keeping her alive at the moment. We suspect that she is waiting to say goodbye to you" Harry nodded before pulling himself together and walked into the private room Mildred was in.

"Clear the room" he said.

"But we have to stay…" said one of the Healers.

"I SAID CLEAR THE GOD DAMNED FUCKING ROOM!" Harry roared, and the Healers hurried from the room in fear of Harry's power. "Get the others here. They should be here for this" the Senior Healer nodded and closed the door. Harry moved over to Mildred's bed where he saw the frail body of his wife.

"Ha… Harry?" Mildred lifted her head weakly.

"I'm here… I'm right here, baby" Harry said, holding a wrinkled hand in his own.

"I've waited for you" Mildred said weakly.

"I know, I know" Harry's eyes glistened.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"You're… You're too sick to get better" Harry replied.

"I didn't want to go without saying goodbye…" Mildred's breathing was getting much more laboured.

"You just sleep now" Harry let the tears run down his face.

"Harry? Tell Hermione to get off the bed please" but Harry knew she was just seeing things as her mind shut down. "I'm glad to get some rest" Mildred said, her eyelids dropping and then opening again.

"Do you regret knowing me?" Harry asked.

"Oh no" Mildred said clearly as the door opened.

"It was a damned fine ride" said Harry with a faint smile that his wife returned.

"It was fun" she coughed. Then she caught sight of something behind Harry. "Oh my…-" then her eyes became unfocused and her head flopped back on the pillow of the bed.

"Milly?" but it was no use. Mildred had passed away peacefully with Harry at her bedside.

"Damn…" said Ethel from the doorway. They had just made it in time to see their friend go.

"She's gone…" Harry said, tears running down his face. They stood for a long time around the body thinking, and Rudi put out her hand to touch Harry's shoulder.

"We should go"

"I don't want to go" Harry said.

"Harry" Drusilla said, moving to his side. "There's nothing more you can do for her. Mildred will be safe here. We have to contact the funeral director and then sort everything out"

"I guess you are right" said Harry, and he leaned in for a kiss on the cooling lips of his wife.

"Mr Potter" the Senior Healer said as they came out of the room, "We are all very sorry for your loss. Your wife was an extraordinary woman"

"I know" Harry said quietly.

"We'll release the body after an autopsy to confirm the cause of death" the Senior Healer said.

"No" Harry shook his head. "No autopsy"

"Mr Potter, it is the law that we perform one – even when we know the cause of death"

"I don't care if the law says you stick a ferret up your arse and whistle the national anthem!" Harry said. "You do not perform an autopsy on my wife – am I clear?"

"Mr Potter, you have no say in the matter" the Senior Healer said. Harry was about to speak when the woman told a trio of white coated persons that they could start their jobs. With lightening reaction, Harry had slammed the Healer against the wall with his arm pushing on her neck.

"I SAID NO!" he shouted.

"Get him off me" the woman said. Other Healers attempted to intervene but were stopped by the girls.

"Try it" Ethel said in a threatening manner. Rudi raced off to get some guards from the Goblins. Over the years, Harry had always maintained good relations with them and always accepted an order from him whenever he gave one.

#

Mildred was buried by the side of her friends and fellow wives by the lakeside at Cackle's. Hundreds of people came from far and wide to see the ceremony, but only close friends and family were able to be close to the coffin. The whole school, dressed in Number One uniforms, provided both an honour guard and a cordon to keep people far enough away from the permitted group. Mildred had lain in state in the middle of the great hall with four students resting on reversed brooms at all times. A small delegation of students from Hogwarts helped to boost numbers. Delegations from all parts of the magical world also attended to pay their respects. The Goblins from Gringotts provided four of their best warriors in full battle armour for free. Harry stood flanked by his family and close friends as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground. There was a silence before Fenella and Griselda started to hum the school song. The others looked at each other, waited for the right moment then started to join in. As the coffin touched the bottom of the grave, a flight of broom riders appeared over the horizon and headed towards the gathering. Harry was going for his wand when Drusilla's hand on his arm made him pause. As the riders from Cackle's got to them and passed overhead, the leader of the formation peeled away.

"Thank you" Harry said, fresh tears springing from his eyes.

"The girls came to us and asked to be allowed to do it as a surprise" Griselda said.

"They spent two whole days practicing it" Fenella said.

"You should say something" Ethel said. Harry nodded with a slight smile of understanding on his face.

"Mildred was my friend. More then that, she was my lover and she was my wife. I met her over a hundred and thirty years ago, and I have never stopped loving her since that moment. Despite having her own issues to deal with, she was always willing to offer an ear to someone, a shoulder to cry on or just be there for someone in their hour of need. She made mistakes like most of us do, but it never stopped her from trying her best. After we became an item, we went through everything together. She never hesitated to do the right thing, and that included having to kill to save people. Her skills, her character, her strength of spirit… that is what defined my wife" Harry would have said more but he was overcome with emotion so he just finished with that.

#

Harry leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and sighed. He was getting into the habit of putting old friends into the ground, and he was getting heartily sick of it. He was jerked awake by the sound of Enid shouting down the stairs.

"Harry, are you coming up here or what?"

"Coming" he grumbled, rising from the chair and going up the stairs. The light on the landing was exceptionally bright, and he thought about changing the bulb when he had the time.

"_Then again_", eh thought as he went into the brightness, "_What was the point_?"

#

They gathered again the following week. True to a promise he had made years before, he had written his own notice for the papers.

_Harry Potter passed away on December 31st_

_After a long and active life._

_Mr Potter wishes it to be known he sadly misses the Quidditch_

Harry's will was read out the morning of the funeral, and it detailed what he wanted doing with all of his possessions. All of the books at Grimmauld Place of value would be given to Cackle's so that future generations could learn from them. He didn't mind what happened to anything else, but the black box in the master bedroom had to be buried with him. Harry's remaining close friends couldn't resist having a quick peek inside and found the honeymoon pictures of Harry and his wives still going at it. As they had sealed the coffin, Fenella had looked up to see a huge grin on Harry's face – a grin that had been there since death. She thought that the grin was deliberate on his part. After putting his money into equal shares for his children, Harry had bequeathed two sums of six million Galleons each to both Cackle's and to a number of certain charities.

When all was said and done, everybody agreed on one thing – it wasn't a bad run for such a Special Union

**A/N:**

**And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we finish a story in style.**

**The original title was going to be Twilight Years, but there is no way we are having _that_ series mentioned in any of our fics unless it is to go back in time and prevent them from being written. As it happens, we are not held legally liable for our actions should we encounter the [CENSORED] author of the Twilight series.**

**Hem hem…**

**As one fic draws to a close, another story comes to the front. We have been secretly writing a story inspired by the ongoing Worst Witch story "Secret" by our very good friend and fellow author Lynnhallow. Both Pixel and Stephanie recommend the story and "Drusilla" by the same person. Very good reads, just be prepared for bunching up of the fic – she is correcting that in due course. We've also been writing chapters for Winds of Change, Escape to A New World, Counter Attack and the Harry Potter One Shots which should be out this week or the next.**

**Because we do it rarely, we're giving anybody who is interested a challenge. A Harry Potter story which is H/Hr starting the summer Sirius dies. How Harry leaves the Dursleys is up to you. No special magic powers unlocked, although increased magic levels/ability/use is/are allowed provided it is because of the Dursleys abusing his body. One thing that MUST happen is Ron stops being their friend. Be nice to have someone write us a story for a change…!**

**For the final time for this story, we ask for your reviews,**

**Regards**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


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